“The word ‘repair’ is an oxymoron. Every repair is entangled with the injury – you cannot separate the two.” 

Kader Attia

In many of his works, Kader Attia explores the dialectic between destruction and repair: repair and injury, he argues, are interconnected.

Repair, however, can also be understood as an act of re-appropriation aimed at resisting the cultural and physical destruction of colonialism. Repair can also be understood as an act of resistance and resilience.

Western concepts of repair often aim to erase all ruptures so as to make the repaired object seem as intact as it had been. In contrast, another form of repair – as exemplified by the Japanese Kintsugi technique (see RePair studio) – aims to deliberately show the cracks instead of covering them. Thus, it enhances the individuality and special character of the repaired object. Remaining visible, the injury becomes part of the object, as is the case with this mirror.

In this way, the repaired mirror forces a conversation between the rupture and the viewer. Can colonial wounds be healed, can these ruptures be repaired – and if so, how?