Porte-clef Paris Keychain

This Is a Keychain

It says so right there.

PORTE-CLEF.

No pretending otherwise.

Among all the words I photograph in Paris, this one clearly had something in mind.

I photographed it.

I filed it away with the others.

Then it waited.

One day, I found it again.

PORTE-CLEF.

I could have put it on a cushion.

A bag.

A pouch.

A very serious artwork about the condition of the contemporary object.

But really, it wanted to become a keychain.

I didn't argue.

When the Word Becomes the Thing

This is another reason I like words.

They say one thing.

Then you move them.

And suddenly they say something else.

Here, the game was already waiting for me: the word PORTE-CLEF becomes an actual keychain, and then actually carries keys.

A word doing exactly what it says.

Almost suspicious.

The image comes from my Paris photography. The keychain is designed and made in Paris. So the journey from word to object has been a short one.

The idea, however, may keep going around in circles for a while.

Very Useful in Case of Doubt

The keychain carries keys, naturally. It can also be attached to a bag or pouch.

Give it to a lover of words.

Someone fond of slightly absurd objects.

An extremely organized person.

Or, on the contrary, someone who could use a reminder.

“What is it?”

It says so right there.

PORTE-CLEF.

Magritte isn't very far away.

But unlike the pipe, this really is a keychain.

Well...

Probably.

Photographed in Paris. Designed in Paris. Made in Paris.