PRECIOUS -Narrative repairs of beloved things

June 16th, 2008

The Precious project addresses the significance of sentimental values in our interaction with artifacts and the importance of emotional function rather than practical. >>>

The hypothesis of this project is; that an artifact only truly becomes interesting once
it has had significance for another human. And the traces that have been left are our inheritance and the link to the past.

Patina isn’t just a dent in a tabletop or a handle worn shiny, it represents life. Patina is a mighty thing, a significant link to our history and the ones who were here before us.

The Precious project focuses on patina and narrative repairs of artefacts imbued with sentimental value. Sentimental value has the power to create immense bonds between man and artefact. These artefacts may represent important periods of one’s life, may remind you of people you’ve met, or may even be the only thing you have left from a dear friend. Priceless,
but invisible, they sit in your home. Until the disaster hits and it breaks. One must then face a number of interesting choices; should it be repaired or not? How? And which material should be used? It’s when an artefact like this gets mended, the sentimental
values become visual. The accident isn’t the end; it’s merely the beginning of a new chapter where the repairs become narrative clues to the history of the artefact and its owner. Therefore the disaster may well be the best thing that ever happened to it. With this in mind I have taken the repairs and the material choices very seriously and this project have been executed with great attention to permanence, exclusive quality
and care.

Precious has resulted in a series of experimental repairs that includes a span of techniques from craftsmanship to the most
advanced manufacturing techniques there are. These narrative repairs have the opportunity to not only visualise the emotional
values, but enhance the actual value of the artefact.

THE VASE

pewter

Hundreds of years from now people will find traces from our time and lives. What happens when the repair material is the only thing remaining? How much of the original form and its origin will it be possible to read from the remains? The vase is the result of a Chinese vase that has been repaired with pewter

THE GOLDEN TEAPOT AND PLATE

porcelain, 24 carat gold leaf plating

The broken shards of the teapot and the plate have been gold plated and mounted back into place. The gold plating simulates the effect solid gold would have on a teapot like this and it is an experiment that aims to see what happens when a repair both adds to the aesthetic and the economical value of an artefact.

 THE HÖGANÄS VESSEL

ceramics, sla-built photopolymer

The Höganäs vessel is a strong symbol of Swedish craftsmanship and it is very common in Swedish homes. Why would someone want to repair something as banal as that? The vessel was scanned in 3D digitally when it was intact. Then once the vessel broke the remains were scanned and the two files were compared in the computer. The difference could then be printed using stereo-lithography and photo-polymer.

THE SHELL

nautilus shell, silver

My girlfriend brought this shell back with her from her year in Australia. For her it represents that part of her life in many ways and she was utterly devastated the day it fell to the floor and broke in hundreds of pieces. I mended the shell with great effort and super glue many years ago and now the shell has been completed with hammered and polished silver. At last it is whole again.

THE STOOL

wood, EBM-built titanium

The stool was found in a dumpster outside an artist collective. The half rotten, broken off piece of the leg was laying right beside the stool and it looked as though the stool had broken its leg at the knee. By scanning the loose piece of the leg in 3D digitally, it became possible to print a titanium prosthesis using Electron Beam Melting (EBM). The titanium prosthesis is stronger than steel and weighs just a little bit more than aluminum. It will be left on earth long after the stool is gone.

FANETT

wood, pewter 

The old “Fanett” chair from 1958 was missing pieces of its backrest. It was easy to find photos of the famous chair on the internet and then recreate the missing pieces from looking at the photos. The missing pieces were recreated in wood, cast in solid pewter and polished.

THE BLUE CHAIR

wood, pewter 

The lost leg of the insect infested chair is replaced with cast pewter. The new leg is an important link in the history of the chair. It tells the story of both the insect attack and the process of the casting. The repair also elicits us to think about what other traces and flaws there are on the chair and what stories they have to tell us.

THE BROWN CHAIR

wood, pewter

The old brown chair was missing its backrest and the seat was cracked badly. By definition the chair now is a stool, but the
holes in the seat says that it is a chair so I guess it is. The seat and the holes were repaired using pewter.

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