The Mending Project
An art installation that mends personal belongings, fostering connection and memory preservation
Initiator(s)
Lee Mingwei
Description
The project consists of an installation where the artist prepared a table, two chairs and colourful spools of thread. During gallery hours the initiator was welcoming visitors who could bring their damaged textile articles or clothes and what the artist while he mended the article. The mended textile was then placed on the table and visitors were invited to return to the galley to collect their objects at the end of the exhibition.
Context
Mended visitors' damaged textile articles, fostering a connection between personal belongings and the artist's craft, promoting the art of mending and the preservation of memories associated with these items.
Goals
The goal was to gain insights into the relationships among self, other and immediate surroundings. It also constituted an act of sharing between the initiator and a stranger.
Beneficial outcomes
The articles were mended for free.
Location
United States
Users
Lee Mingwei, gallery and museum visitors.
Maintained by
Lombard-Freid Projects (2009); Liverpool Biennial (September 2010); 18th Biennale of Sydney (September 2012).
Duration
2009
Category
Scientific
Pedagogical
Politics
Urban Development
Economy
Environment
Social
