This brief case was actually designed as a portable storage case for audio cassettes – the interior depth of the case is the exact height of a cassette tape.

Have you ever seen an audio cassette? They were very popular in the 1980s in the UK but have been superseded by CDs and music downloads. In some parts of Africa they remain a popular medium for recorded music.

The exterior of this robust case is made from reused metal from flattened cans of concentrated tomato paste of the brand Dieg Bou Diar. The metal is riveted together in bold horizontal bands. In the central red band the text is written in French (one of the official languages of Senegal), and there is a motif of a Senegalese woman carrying a bowl of tomatoes balanced on her head. The outer bands and edges of the case are gold coloured metal. The case is reinforced with bands of wood attached with strips of metal and more rivets. It has a plastic handle with a metal hoop fastener that can be padlocked to secure the case.

The interior of the case is lined with reused pages of newsprint showing fragments of wildlife photography and comics. You can see the image of a chameleon which is cut up and alternated with the comic strip adventures of Mickey and Minnie Mouse. If you look carefully you can see that the cartoon speech bubbles are all in French and that the setting is tropical Africa.