Joe with a camera

Joe left to go back to Chicago at 2:00 AM. Right now, he’s probably flying over Europe heading towards Zurich, his layover. Now, without him our biggest problem is: Who will carry the camera? Claudia’s newest Canon gadget weighs about what a three-year-old should. It starts to feel like one too. It constantly needs attention. “Where’s the camera?” “Does it have its lens?” “Has it been downloaded?” “What’s its battery life?” It is the biggest burden Joe donned on the trip and arguably the most important.

young child

When I tell people about my buying trip adventures with Primitive everyone automatically blurts out the same response, “Oh my god! You are so lucky!” And I reply with, “Yes, I am. I know.” But I do believe few people understand the weight of a trip. Not just of the camera or of our bags, but the mental weight too. Yesterday, when we were in Jaipur buying statues, a gang of kids surrounded us and voluntarily became our entourage. They performed for us wanting only high-fives and pictures of themselves in return. They delighted at the sight of their own image reflected back at them. That moment was great. It might emerge at the end of the trip as one of the highlights.

Afterward I thought about those kids. I’m not sure where they went, but their image will forever be fixed in my head and locked into digital film. And that night, in my hotel room, I reflected on the human side of the story told by the objects presented at Primitive. It is not always evident. Typically, it is left to the viewer’s imagination, but it is there nonetheless if one chooses to imagine. Like a digital record, each and every object tells its story in an endless series of impressions, yet all say the same thing. They have been on a journey. In fact, they continue to be, and so do I.