The Case of the disappearing object: narratives and artefacts in homes and a museum exhibition from Pakistani heritage families in South Yorkshire

Abstract

This article describes a small-scale research project focused on a small group of families of Pakistani heritage who were interviewed about their possessions and the stories associated with those objects, in order to create an exhibition of intergenerational home objects. It looks at what happens when home objects are placed in a museum exhibition context. In particular, the article considers the phenomenon by which intergenerational objects that have crossed continents are sometimes lost, and discusses whether this requires special attention in the context of studies of post-colonialist identities and objects. An interesting dissonance appears in the representation of the exhibition when objects are lost and then replaced in exhibitions. An artefact from the museum collection can be substituted for the lost object in an exhibition, but there is still an issue of the ‘original’ object not being found. This article considers the context of these objects and stories and how these can be related to the literature on British Asian post-colonial identities.