From Inside a
Cigar Box
From Inside a Cigar Box is a working-project and a personal journey uncovering heritage and family history in Sri Lanka, through the coming to light of a photographic archive.
‘You know, Granddad used to be really into his photography’ I’d often hear growing up. Yet I did not once see him with a camera in my nearly thirty years of knowing him. I would ask him about this and he wouldn’t share a huge amount; that was his nature. On several occasions I would search his house and garage up and down for the apparent stash of negatives. They always remained elusive.
It was only in his passing that a beautiful, worn, wooden cigar box came to light, gold and green on the edges, the lid held in place with a fraying elastic band. Inside: hundreds of black and white negatives taken at Nana (Lorna LaFrenais) and Granddad (Neville LaFrenais)’s hometown in Sri Lanka, made over a period of approximately four years from 1958 to 1962, before my grandparents and dad migrated to England.
Both the box and its content were more substantial and beautiful than anything I had imagined. Inside lay Nana and Granddad’s life in Sri Lanka; at work, social occasions, family portraits, sports, leisure pursuits, as new parents, and more, all meticulously documented. Scanning and cataloging this archive I began the journey of getting to know my Grandparents in a new way, as well as my own history.
This project is ongoing, with a number of possible resolutions being worked out. At some point I’d love to exhibit them in Sri Lanka.
