Repair and Imperfection through the Lens of the Spectral

The ineluctability of the spectral ensures that there is no definitive answer to the question of when imperfections should be condoned and when, conversely, they should be fixed. The concept of spectrality underlines the prime importance of attending to the material without being furtively driven by a yearning for perfection. The general condition of spectrality carries a heterogeneity of material effects, and in certain situations repair might encourage calamity rather than prosperity. Repair should therefore not be undertaken as a practice that sets out to reach perfection, but rather should be handled with a sensitivity to the constant mutations that come with life’s spectral nature. While this haunting finitude constitutes everything that exists, it is within those objects and structures that are framed as imperfect, or in need of repair and maintenance, that finitude has become highly legible and that the spectral structure of existence is especially palpable.