Designers are typically interested in creating new objects, and repair is generally done to old and broken designs. How did you become interested in curating a project on repair?

Hans Tan (HT): The re-use and transformation of materials or objects has always been part of my practice and the designs I fabricate. The idea of ‘repair’ came naturally when I thought of putting together an exhibition. The project started in 2019 when I designed a brief for my students at the National University of Singapore to create a method of repair. It had to be encapsulated in a kit to allow someone else to do it themselves, and the outcome of the repair did not necessarily need to restore the object but had to make it better than the original.

While working on this brief, an opportunity arose to adjust it for professional designers as part of an exhibition. The pandemic had happened, and I wanted to rally designers in Singapore to breathe life through design in this challenging time of darkness. I knew many designers who had work cancelled at that time, and I thought this project could be an opportunity. At the same time, they had more free time which could result in more interesting outcomes. I was pleasantly surprised that the DesignSingapore Council picked up on the project and was willing to partner with me too. It became one of the first exhibitions to welcome people back into the National Design Centre in 2021.

The exhibition featured responses to two briefs you designed. One involved 10 professional designers repairing objects they were assigned. Another was an 11-week project where design students developed nine repair kits. How did these different groups take to your design briefs and the idea of repair?

HT: Repairing something to its original condition is very straightforward and based on skills. But by asking the students to ensure the repaired object would be “better off” than the original, my brief forced them to think a bit differently about repair. It challenged them to experiment with processes, methods, and techniques of repair to end up with an interesting outcome. It also meant they had to shift their design approach…

The professional designers were each invited to interpret repair using their own imagination. I did not have to guide them much and their eventual outcomes reflected how they saw repair based on their design ethos.

An open call was held for broken, faulty, and worn-out objects for repair. What sorts of things were offered by the public and how did you select the final 10 objects?

HT: We had a lot of everyday objects, including a pair of spectacles, a clock radio, broken ceramics, and bags. There were also things that people had used for a long time and were important to them for various reasons. This mix of older objects and utilitarian ones formed a really good foundation for the project.

I had a few criteria when selecting the objects. One was to ensure we had a variety. Another was the maneuverability of the object’s material. Some materials just don’t allow for much room for creative repair, such as a glass object. Thus, I applied an industrial design perspective to see how much potential an object could have in terms of transformation. A third criterion was the expertise of the designers participating in the project. I deliberately invited designers from a variety of fields, from graphic to product and furniture. However, they were not necessarily assigned to a medium they were good at. Instead, I consciously matched each designer to an object that was slightly challenging and would hopefully spark their curiosity to design something interesting.

For example, we had a pair of broken spectacles that one might have given to a product designer who was good at working with details. However, I thought it would be interesting to assign it to the advertising agency Kinetic, whose work is very creative and conceptual. There is only so far you can go in repairing a pair of spectacles, but Kinetic came up with an installation that proposed the owner should adapt herself to the deformed object instead. I was really pleased with the result!

The repairs by the designers are far from conventional restorations of broken objects. Were the outcomes what you expected and how did they fit into your definition of repair?

HT: The repairs were all unexpected – as I expected! Some were more straightforward such as Tiffany Loy’s repair of a tote bag, which the owner had bought with his first pay cheque. It was originally used for work and was relegated to a grocery bag when it became worn out as he could not bear to throw it away. Tiffany discovered that while the exterior of the bag was worn out, the inside was still in quite good condition. She inverted the bag and wove strings on the new exterior to create more space, taking after the typical string grocery bag used in Europe. The repair is a very well-restored piece of work and also captures the owner’s story beautifully.

On the other hand, there were very conceptual repairs too. Atelier HOKO was assigned a ceramic cup with a broken handle that the owner had kept because it was handed down by her parents. Instead of reattaching the handle, which was the most obvious thing to do, the designers sanded down the broken edges of the cup and created a small booklet to show the owner how the cup could still be used even without the handle. For instance, she could hold it with two hands instead to feel the warmth. The designers also created a beautiful wooden box to store the broken handle and honour the fact that the cup was an heirloom. Although this repair did not restore the function of the object, it wove in the story behind it.

How did the owners and audiences respond to your project? Do you have any stories to share?

HT: At the opening, we had an informal gathering of the designers and the owners of the objects. It was very powerful moment as we had kept the outcome from most of them. It was the first time the owners saw their repaired objects, and there were a lot of surprised faces and even tears! That session was really quite tender, and many of the owners came away pleasantly surprised. It was great to see people with no design background appreciate the thoughts and rationale of the designers.

In my curatorial projects, I also regard the participating designers as the audience to whom I offer a different perspective of what design can be used for. We had feedback from the designers that this project challenged their definition of repair. It helped them to recognise how design can play a unique role in infusing creativity into a process we normally see as just restoring objects.

One other element of the project was how the exhibition was designed to capture the spirit of the theme. We made sure most of the components were reusable, which resulted in 70 pieces of furniture that could make ideal side tables for homes. They had no adhesives, which made them easy to put together and take apart. Another motivation for such a design was to avoid onsite construction as it was difficult to apply for work passes during the pandemic and would add to cost. At the end of the exhibition, we conducted a giveaway of the tables and the people who eventually came to collect them were effectively our exhibition tear down team. We were really happy that all the tables were adopted within hours. I still see some of them around in the offices of designers and also at Common Ground, an event space in Bedok.