Carbon Tetrachloride

Once the industry's all-purpose ace — fire extinguisher, refrigerant, degreaser — Carbon Tetrachloride was banned by the Montreal Protocol when its ozone-depleting and hepatotoxic nature came to light. Now wearing a faded military greatcoat bearing a red prohibition cross and a rusted commemorative medal, it stands quietly with a cracked antique fire extinguisher. The sorrow runs deep: it knows that its very usefulness wounded the world. The faded grey figure shot through with carbon-black and pale chlorine-green carries a quiet, transient beauty.