The second life of
things

The second life of things – Our throw-away and consumerist society is a recent phenomenon in the history of humanity. The way people handled materials and objects used to be driven by scarcity and shortages. Up until the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century, it was normal to hand down clothes, repair tools, reuse building materials, melt down bronze objects to make new ones, and recycle glass containers. Whether they were made from fabric, metal, stone or glass – it was possible for all manner of things to have a second, third, or even infinite life.

The exhibition takes a look at the methods of the circular economy past and present. Objects from the Stone Age to the present day show how their history can raise awareness of the value of things.