Matchsticks

The simple close-up of a couple of matches with their intrinsically clever use is what makes your winning photo. Turning the matches into miniature knitting needles weaving a piece of wool is nothing short of brilliant. You must have very delicate fingers and an inordinate amount of patience to be able to demonstrate the skilful art of knitting on such a miniature scale. Your extraordinary photo of inter-looping yarns had me in stitches the moment I sew it.

The moment I saw your photo I could hear Harry Belafonte singing ‘The Banana Boat Song’. Your creation of a ceremonial Maori war canoe is a perfect craft for displaying matchsticks. Using them as oars in your well-constructed image puts them at the crest of your material-folded waves. “Day-o, day-o, come mister tally man tally me banana...”

Your macro image of burning matchsticks resembles a coal fire. The round heads are like smokeless briquettes flaming in a home fire. They are so realistic that I had to look really hard to make sure they were really matchstick ends. A low shutter speed has given your matchstick heads a sharp texture at the same time as blurring the ambient flames. Nice.

The simple but effective motion of striking a match in the dark suggests all kinds of scenarios. Is it James Bond lighting a lady spy’s cigarette or is it Maigret about to ignite his famous pipe? The image strikes back to the sixties when smoking was an accepted romantic gesture. It puts me in mind of the cigarette advertising slogan “You’re never alone with a Strand”. Artistically successful but a commercial failure because smokers didn’t want to be considered as loners. But in a photo competition being a loner is what brings awards.

This is a superb narrative using just a few matches bound with sewing thread. You’ve managed to create a realistic composition of a matchstick man travelling on a raft reflected in the river.. It’s no wonder this was shot in Malaysia as it conjures up an image of an adventurer floating through an exotic landscape. The time and trouble in staging this miniature piece of art is what sells your very convincing story.

Your outstanding piece of minimalist black and white photography is in direct contrast to all the colourful burning match entries. The choice of a black spent match shot against a white background is what makes your photo unique. What I see is the bow iron of a Venetian gondola rising its head up through the thick fog of the Grand Canal. I can hear the gondolier singing “O sole mio” in an effort to warn others of his whereabouts and to entice sunshine to clear the Italian mist.

My first reaction on seeing this entry was that the matches were a great fashion accessory. On reading your description I see that it’s a graphic demonstration of someone’s who’s suffering from depression. Suddenly the matchsticks take on an altogether different meaning. They now become acupuncture needles gently inserted to help relieve the person’s misery. The single lit match serves as a reminder of the private pain the patient must be experiencing.

This is a humorous example of old giving way to the new. The sight of an electronic igniter is enough to make the three figures run for their lives knowing they’ve met their match. You’ve expertly conveyed movement by the way you’ve assembled the fleeing matchstick men. The motion blur gives your image an added sense of desperation which helps set your photo alight.