Beyond Repair started as an investigation in material and technological culture, as well as exploring the issue of value (emotional, material, economical & cultural) of an artifact both in a museum and in an everyday context: when is an object beyond repair? How to intervene upon it so that it can benefit its user/viewer again? An object is also made of memories conferred upon it by society or by an owner, it has a power as a storyteller that transcends its functionality.

 

The final works developed through the project comment on the value of the things we like to collect and surround ourselves with, while pointing at alternative ways in which digitalisation can allow for an empathic and poetic reconstruction.

The vase from Waldemar Lindström for Rörstrand (1910 Ca.), presents a visible hole drilled at its base, made by a previous owner to accomodate a lamp chord (rather often vases have been adapted to become lamp bases, and this is no exception - a small action that greatly compromises the market value of the object). The decorative motif of lilies is extracted and further elaborated on a software to turn it into a three dimensional flower.

The Trollslända coffee set by Alf Wallander for Rörstrand (1910 Ca.), presented several broken or missing elements from different owners

in Sweden. 

The glass vase (1910 Ca.) from Emile Gallé has suffered a serious damage: it was broken in many pieces and it presents a visible crack with several missing parts; furthermore the vase is truncated by pervious owner.