Souvenirs: Magical Objects in Everyday Life

This article considers the role of souvenirs within domestic spaces. Souvenirs are ambivalent objects; at the same time the very epitome of tourism kitsch and personal objects for which the owner holds significant affection. Rather than pre-framing these objects either as ‘touristic signifiers’ or as personal memory objects, this article reflects on the roles they take as material and embodied co-habitants in domestic space, living - and communicating – with their owners. Hence, this paper departs from ‘humanistic’ accounts of cohabiting people and things and instead attempts to put human and non-human agents on an equal footing. It does so, by discussing the ‘magical capabilities’ of everyday objects that enable these to enchant the lives of their human cohabitants; animating them with affects and emotions, feelings of remembrance, affection, appreciation and loss. By drawing inspiration from autoethnography and in particular its potentials for interrogating objects, the author explores the ‘souvenirish’ qualities of five homely objects; using this exploration to enter into a dialogue with objects as well as theories and studies of objects. Considering the many faces of the souvenir - as utility item, mediator, fetish, tuner and artwork - the article suggests an opening for more imaginative thinking and explorations of how we live with objects in everyday life.