Souvenirs bring back memories

Most holiday keepsakes end up gathering dust, but a simple glance at a few cherished souvenirs fire up the memories of a special adventure. It could be a tacky I Love Paris T-shirt, a seashell picked up on a beach or a splashy rug haggled at a bazaar.

After all, the thrill of a journey lies in experiencing new adventures and places, meeting different people and seeing the world from a diverse point of view. With Mr. and Mrs. Bon Voyage’s sometime foggy memories, what better way to reaffirm those recollections and relive those special times than with a souvenir?

Greetings from…Exchanging cultural ideals through tourism, a new exhibit at the University of Alberta Department of Human Ecology Gallery, delves into souvenirs, their meaning to the buyer and how it affects the global tourist trade.

As a project for 23 fourth-year human ecology students, the trinkets are harvested from the department’s 23,000-piece clothing and textile collection as well as from students and faculty.

“The moment you had the objects, the stories came with them. It was germane to people. Stories were even flowing from people who brought souvenirs to show us,” says student Karly Coleman, who worked on the text committee for the project.

The 40 mementos range from a mass-produced kitschy Statue of Liberty and Hawaiian hula doll to a handcrafted set of three, indigenous banana-fibre wall hangings from Kenya and an elegant kimono worn by a Japanese bride at her wedding.

“There were hundreds of objects. It was so overwhelming. We tried to represent the exhibit globally. We also wanted a variety of items and that’s why my quirky cookbook got chosen,” says project organizer Dr. Megan Strickfaden. She teaches material culture in the home and community.

Strickfaden refers to the Oonskookboek, a Dutch cookbook comparable to our Joy of Cooking, that she received from colleagues while working in Belgium.

“It’s very symbolic in that when a young person leaves home, you give them a copy of the cookbook. When I left they gave it to me. They wanted me to know Belgium was still my home and I have my recipes to remind me.”

Interestingly enough, whether a souvenir is high-grade or low quality rarely influences the owner’s appreciation, says Strickfaden.

“A souvenir represents a country where it came from, but also what the person experienced. If it was made in China, it may not represent the culture, but it can represent the experience the person authentically had.”

“When you purchase a souvenir from a craftsman, that might be a more authentic representation of the culture, but it may not have the same memories.”

Coleman uses the Eiffel Tower as an example.

“It’s a lightning rod where you don’t necessarily remember other experiences. You have an idea in your head what the place is like and it may or may not be a realistic representation of what was really there. It can be problematic or invigorating.”

Coleman’s contribution was a stunning Venetian mask she purchased at an Italian market. At the time, she was a 17-year-old globetrotter travelling as a companion with her great uncle and his granddaughter.

“It personified the experience,” she says describing the painted papier-mâché, wood and fabric mask.

“My uncle was a curmudgeon who wanted to pee in the canal and kept saying how expensive it was. But I persevered. The mask is a lightning rod. I can’t remember buying it, but I cradled it all the way home.”

One of the exhibit’s more mesmerizing showpieces is a five-foot-tall didgeridoo, a wind instrument developed by aboriginal Australians. Painted with a droplet effect, it displays two whales swimming in the sea.

Loaned by St. Albert’s Linda-Marie Johnson, it was a purchase her son Liam, a trumpet player, made in northern Australia during a family trip.

“It was made for the Olympics but it was left unsold,” explains Johnson, a student on the display committee.

Worried about finding the right luggage to carry the didgeridoo home, the family was gratified to learn that the airlines offered them complimentary luggage.

Far from being just a showpiece, “Liam is trying to learn to play it. He’s taken it on as challenge.”

Strickfaden points out that while some souvenirs link travellers together, others set them apart. She points to an “I h-e-a-r-t New York” T-shirt.

“It connects people. It can start a conversation. You can meet like-minded individuals or it can create differences.”

Sitting next to the T-shirt is a straw handbag made in Columbia. Whenever the donor slung it over her shoulder, it was so unusual, people immediately knew it was made elsewhere and tagged her as different.

One of the more eye-popping vibrant knick-knacks is a set of Ukrainian matryoshka dolls more commonly known as nesting dolls. The 10 brightly painted wooden dolls, dressed in a peasant gown, fit inside each other. The tiniest is the size of a child’s thumbnail. The largest could pass for a cookie jar.

Johnson adds that unlike photographs, purchased trinkets create pleasure in a different way.

“They’re very tactile. They interact with us in a different way.”

Students also examined how an authentic cultural artifact can be replicated into a tourist object – with distinct differences. And what a billion dollar industry it’s become.

On display is a pair of genuine, hand-size bound-feet shoes used to restrict the growth of a Japanese girl’s feet. Next to it is a touristy mass produced pair of doll-size Lotus shoes imitating the look.

Looking at the differences, Johnson explains, “The Lotus is smaller with more embellishments and embroidery. The bound foot shoe is less embroidered, but it has more detail. There are ties to bind the feet and there’s a heel.”

The exhibit is packed with various gems such as salad tongs from South Africa, a wooden mask of protection from Sri Lanka, a grass doll from Polynesia and a Taj Mahal table covering from India.

Ultimately Strickfaden says Greetings from… was conceived to provoke people to think about other cultures and the way objects stand in for people and create meaning in life.

“You really can’t say one souvenir is better than another. Objects are meaningful because they connect to a lived experience.”