Hope and heartbreak at Singapore Design Week

PEOPLE can fix broken objects, but can objects heal broken people? A group of doctors, designers and artists say they can – and they’re determined to prove it. 

At Singapore Design Week, there is an extraordinary exhibition titled Heal: Repair+ held at 42 Waterloo Street, where several individuals with broken objects worked with different designers to restore them. 

One of the participants is Joanne, a woman who gave birth to a daughter with severe medical complications: a hole in her heart, an underdeveloped stomach and no anus. While working two jobs to cover his daughter’s medical expenses, Joanne’s husband tragically died in an accident. Just six months later, Joanne’s father died from cancer. Now 35 years old, Joanne’s daughter faces a grim prognosis, with doctors predicting she may not live past 40, bringing the shadow of another loss into Joanne’s life.