Object Therapy Work_

Kristie’s mother was given the Kenwood mixer for her 21st birthday by her parents. It was passed onto Kristie when she set up her first home. As a result of metal fatigue the hinge broke and the object has been stored in Kristie’s garage for the past five years. When the object was submitted to this project, Object Therapy curator Guy Keulemans contacted the Delonghi (now owner of Kenwood) to discuss the possibility of repair. There was no response. With the knowledge that Kristie had since replaced the broken mixer with a working model, repairer Rohan Nicol’s approach was not limited by functional concerns. Instead, he wanted to entomb the memories embedded in the object. Reminiscent of an archeological artifact, he has locked the object in cement, fixing in time the often-invisible bonds between family members.

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