Mememtos of things still present by Elsi Vassdal Ellis

A range of emotions ran through me while reading a National Geographic article about European songbird migration. The cut-line of the article asked: “How can we stop the slaughter of songbirds migrating across the Mediterranean?” Beyond the plight of songbirds is the bigger question: How can we stop the slaughter of animals facing the real possibility of extinction because of human beliefs and/or desires? Strange as it may seem, Proust’s title Remembrance of Things Past popped into my head and I thought of the sentimental trinkets and charms collected to remember specific moments. It may be sooner than later that mementos, such as those contained within each box of this edition, will be all that remains (except perhaps bones and trophies on walls) of elephants, rhinoceroses, sharks, and songbirds. This is the first volume of a memento box series exploring the dynamics of human and animal intersections and interactions.