This “scratching tool” is a recreation of an object from Berlin’s Museum der Dinge. It looks like a hairbrush, but has nails instead of bristles and a zigzag metal strip on the back for different kinds of itches. Among all the weird things in the museum’s collection, this handmade surrealist object was extraordinarily weird. I don’t understand what it is, I’m just happy it exists.
As an avid collector myself, I sometimes build homemade versions of items I can’t get originals of. My rendition of this object doesn’t try to be an exact copy, but it conveys the essence and spirit of the original. The contradiction that it looks well-used but is completely impractical felt interesting and important to express.
21 × 10.5 × 7.5 cm | 8.25 × 4 × 3 in
Materials: Cedar shingle from my parent’s house, nails, aluminum, string, paper.