The book is hand typed on a 1970s typewriter, including hand-written diary entries from Trevor himself – the nostalgia and memories that flood from the book are punctuated by the analogue elements, including genuine vintage paper plane templates, old photographs and Kodak slides of planes that Trevor had been on. But most of all, these sick bags are indeed quite sick. They chart the analogue design choices (and the way that branding somehow finds itself in the most unexpected places) from China to the United States, sporting beautiful printed logo designs and uncomplicated layouts. One sick bag is advertising the 2005 videogame Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, another is a 1980s Qantas bag made in partnership with Kodak, so if one did not use it for an airborne vom, they could use it as a photo-development bag for their holiday (pretty genius if you ask me). “Now you’re lucky to even get a bag, let alone one that goes beyond just plain white paper,” says Elizabeth.
For Elizabeth, documentary is her life – it’s the perfect avenue for her genuine interest in life and all of its bizarre characters. Archiving is an extension of that lust for life, even if it’s trivial or disposable objects such as sick bags. Simply put: if one person loves sick bags, thousands of others probably do too. From Peter to Trevor to Elizabeth and finally: to us. As we continue to experience the “paperless future” we were promised in the 2000s, we find ourselves missing the strangest of objects. “Every single one of Trevor’s memories were sparked from him holding onto a bag and seeing what came to him. Ephemera is an important snapshot of history and whatever people collect, however trivial it might seem to someone else, is beautiful because passion is beautiful,” says Elizabeth. “While most people would throw an unused sick bag away without a second thought, Trevor’s remains as a sacred memory dedicated to living in the moment and embracing life after someone close to him died young; I feel we can all learn something from seeing beauty in something most other people fail to.”
Sicko is now available to be purchased from Elizaberth McCafferty’s online shop.