When a child shatters a vase with a ball, its pieces are tossed or swept away. The vase has reached the end of its service, destined to live the rest of its days in a landfill, forgotten by humanity. But, what if you were to give the vase a second chance? By putting each piece back together, joining each fragment together along its cracks until, a vase of similar shape but with a different aesthetic. An aesthetic that embodies the values of Kintsugi.

To join with gold, this is the literal translation of Japanese Kintsugi the art of repair. As previously mentioned, a broken aesthetic highlights the life of the sculpture from the time it was made to its eventual decay. Kintsugi this experience of an artistic object, emphasizing each crack and repair as events in its life, forming stories that can be told. It is the imperfections that make art beautiful, it is more authentic and more resilient as with mending the artwork becomes physically stronger than before.

Philosophically speaking Kintsugi goes hand in hand with the Japanese wabi-sabi, a worldview that directly contrasts the Western worldview of idealism and perfectionism. Wabi-sabi is the appreciation and acceptance of imperfection. Its principles include asymmetry, roughness, and simplicity things that would put an ancient Greek sculptor in a complete shock. Though wabi-sabi artwork may seem unfinished, unpolished, or unorthodox, one thing it acknowledges is its destined fate in the hands of time and nature. According to author Richard Powell, “Wabi-sabi nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: ‘Nothing lasts, nothing is finished and nothing is perfect.’”

Kintsugi can also be a metaphor for life. As much as it means to us, it is fragile and can be completely shattered by unexpected events. Kintsugi is the hope of repairing yourself, with each scar of your experience reinforcing yourself to become stronger and more resilient than before.