Bolts in Black and White

A handful of heavy bolts, their worn threads and scratched heads catching the light, rests in a loose pile on one of my dad’s workbenches. I love the simplicity of these shapes and the way they overlap, each one showing the marks of use.

My dad was a hydraulic maintenance mechanic who could fix just about anything. He even made parts when he couldn’t find what he needed. Spending time arranging and photographing these bolts brought me back to the hours I loved being in his garage, surrounded by the tools and pieces that made his work possible.

Part of Donna Dufault’s Tool Project, a collection of 19 black-and-white still life photographs created in 2002 using tools from her late father’s garage.

Open-edition photographic print on 11 × 14-inch paper. Image dimensions vary. Signature incorporated into the photograph. Sold unmounted and unframed.