Kristie's Kenwood Mixer

Abstract

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 archaeological artifact, he has locked the object in cement, fixing in time the often-invisible bonds between family members.