Object Therapy Work_

Susannah recently attempted to take apart the broken fan as she wanted to use the internal motor for something else. In the process she discovered the fan had a burnt out resistor and went online to see if there was a fix. Susannah discovered the fan had been recalled in 1992 after causing more than 50 house fires. The company that manufactured the fan took action after two children died. Susannah located the original recall and coroner’s notices which read “under no circumstances should there be an attempt to check or modify the fans; they should be immediately destroyed”. Susannah Bourke removed the ability of the fan to cause fires by making it hand cranked. As the crank runs the fan, it has a dual function as a paper shredder. Bourke has set it up to shed the history of the object. Evidence of fires, recalls, design awards and inquests all disappear as it runs. Susannah, a talented design student, was selected to repair her own broken object.

More about Object Therapy: Download the Object Therapy Catalogue

CREDITS_

Object Therapy was a Hotel Hotel project developed in collaboration with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the Australian National University (ANU).

Curators: Guy Keulemans, Andy Marks, Niklavs Rubenis, Dan Honey
Project designers: Guy Keulemans, Andy Marks
Research investigators: Guy Keulemans, Andy Marks, Niklavs Rubenis
Photography: Lee Grant