‘R for Repair: London x Singapore’ – the second edition of the ‘R for Repair’ exhibition – is open until November 2nd at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The exhibition showcases the transformative power of repair as part of the London Design Festival.
The original exhibition debuted at the National Design Centre in Singapore in January 2021. Initiated by Hans Tan Studio and commissioned by DesignSingapore Council, the project sits within a growing landscape of initiatives designed to encourage a repair culture.
The first edition featured a call out for people to submit broken objects as well as share the stories that gave these items significance. The objects were then passed on to designers for creative repair, with the brief of giving them a new persona or form while respecting the owner’s attachment. This process returns for the 2022 edition, presented at the V&A London.
This exhibition includes ten items repaired by ten different designers for 2022, alongside three repaired objects from the original exhibition in 2021. Everything on display will be returned to the owners thereafter. Circularity underpins the exhibition design which is composed of crates that will be put back in circulation through the manufacturer’s buy-back scheme.
“Though repair used to be the first response when something breaks down, current day hyper-consumption has diminished the transformative role of repair,” commented Co-Curator, Hans Tan. “It is important to reframe repair in the contemporary context through design, which I believe when done well, comes with a good value system for how we could consider ownership.”
Photo: Zuketa Film Production
more: designsingapore.org (251)
