Australian Designers & Artists Transform Broken Design Objects Into Future Heirlooms.

Clothing from Bianca Spender, repaired by Lucy Mcrae. Photo: Traianos Pakioufakis.

Vespa from Yael Stone, repaired by David Caon. Photo: Carine Thévenau.

In Transformative Repair, leading Australian designers transform the broken design objects of celebrated creatives and climate change activists into future heirlooms.

The exhibition was met with a wide array of responses. Some objects—a broken Vespa donated by actor and climate change activist Yael Stone and repaired by David Caon; a pair of disintegrating 1950’s ‘Plan-o-spider’ chairs from gallerist Sally Dan-Cuthbert revitalised by weaver Liz Williamson and collaborator Tulla Carson; or a damaged pendant lamp by the Campana Brothers for Edra reconstructed by Adam Goodrum as a floor lamp—have retained their original use.

Other objects have been completely transformed in both appearance and function. Take the unsellable garments from Bianca Spender that, together with a vintage Knoll chaise lounge, are repurposed into functional art by Lucy McRae; or the model Qantas Boeing 747—known as the “Queen of the Skies”—belonging to Flight Facilities musician Hugo Gruzman and magically transformed into an ornate crown by jeweller Kyoko Hashimoto. Then there’s the poetic storytelling of Nyikina artist and craftsman Illiam Nargoodah, who has created a tableau artwork from a broken axe belonging to scientist, explorer and conservationist Tim Flannery.

Led by Guy Keulemans, Enterprise Fellow at UniSA Creative, and Trent Jansen, Lecturer at UNSW Art, Design and Architecture, the initiative aims to generate discussion around the environmental impact of our culture of discarding rather than repairing broken objects.

“The project responds to the pressing cultural and environmental burden of product obsolescence and consumer waste through innovation in transformative repair,” Guy explains. “This designed reworking of broken consumer objects transforms their aesthetic appeal and cultural value.”

On the evening of the exhibition’s conclusion on 9th June, a selection of these reimagined objects—alongside other associated objects, including an animated NFT of a model Cessna 310 by Kyoko Hashimoto and collaborator Ebony Fleur, and a series of woven artworks by Liz Williamson made using the scrap elastic from the old webbing of the Plan-o-spider chairs —will be auctioned off by renowned auctioneer Andrew Shapiro. For more info head to transformativerepair.net.

Object Therapy Exhibition in Canberra.

The latest project in Hotel Hotel’s Fix and Make program, Object Therapy culminates in an exhibition of 30 broken objects that have undergone 'therapy'.

Campana Brothers lamp for Edra, repaired by Adam Goodrum. Photo: Traianos Pakioufakis.

Plan-O-Spider chairs from Sally Dan-Cuthbert, repaired by Liz Williamson. Photo: Traianos Pakioufakis

[Images courtesy of Transformative Repair. Photography by Traianos Pakioufakis and Carine Thévenau.]