Wrenches

A dense pile of my dad’s wrenches fills the frame, their open ends and box ends overlapping in every direction. Some are bright, some darkened with age and use, and several still carry the marks of the work they did.

What makes this photograph especially personal to me is seeing my dad’s name engraved into some of the tools in his own handwriting. It is such a small detail, but it brings him immediately back to me. These were not simply tools from a garage; they were his, used by his hands over years of fixing, building, and solving problems.

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.