Kintsugi (金継ぎ)

noun [U] (Japanese)

1. To repair with gold; Kintsugi, the art of repairing metal with gold or silver lacquer together with the understanding that an object is more beautiful for having been broken.

It has been said that the egg is probably the most perfect thing in the universe. Important in many religions, as a symbol of fertility, new life, and reincarnation.

Ancient peoples believed the universe itself was hatched from the cosmic egg yet in the modern world, and when the primal egg breaks, the yolk becomes the sun, the white the moon and new life begins. Simultaneously, however perfection is lost, the smooth, ovoid shell is shattered and the contents spilled.

It is said 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder'. In using this ancient Japanese art together with the philosophy of wabi-sabi, which sees an object's beauty in it's transience and imperfection, I juxtapose notions of perfection with beauty, old with new and the eastern and western notions of aesthetics. It is for the viewer to decide.



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