Shane's Glass Giraffe

Shane purchased the glass giraffe for a woman he was courting in 1993. He bought it from a shop near the civic bus centre exchange in Canberra. He used to pass through there regularly and saw the giraffe in the shop almost daily. The woman, Jane, later became his wife. The giraffe was displayed prominently on their bookshelf for many years until Shane broke it, knocking it off the shelf. He hid the giraffe in a yogurt container on the top of the bookshelf, where it remained for three years. Recently when moving house, Shane rediscovered the broken giraffe and admitted the breakage to his wife.

Guy Keulemans has approached the repair experimentally. He made a mould from a good leg. He duplicated it in photo luminescent pigment and resin, and grafted it to the giraffe’s broken hind leg. To ensure the fragile object is protected and comfortable Keulemans has built it a small box with a sun bed. If you let the giraffe out to bask in the sun for a few minutes, when you return him to his box you can look at him through the box’s peephole and see his leg glow.

Design Repairer: Guy Keulemans

Guy is a multi-disciplinary designer and researcher working across product design, graphics and installation. In his practice he produces critical objects informed by history, philosophy and experimental methodology. Major themes are repair, generative processes, and the environmental concerns of production and consumption. Guy has exhibited in museums and galleries in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Poland and Australia including ARS Electronica, the Marres Centre for Contemporary Culture, COCA Torun and Platform 21, Object, Craft ACT and Craft Victoria. He currently lectures at UNSW Art and Design.

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Shane's Glass Giraffe. Repaired by Guy Keulemans. Photos by Lee Grant. Image copyright Hotel Hotel.