Things that break can be fixed, or reused, to give it a different, functional or artistic use. It is called upcycling -or upcycling for lovers of fashionable Anglicisms-, and it is one of the new trends that are gaining ground in a society dominated, on the one hand, by hyper-consumption and planned obsolescence, and on the other -and more and more-, due to responsible consumption, recycling and the need to minimize the generation of waste.
But in reality it is not so new, five centuries ago the Japanese coined a term: kintsugi, literally “golden patch”, and it is an appreciated craft technique that consists of putting together the broken pieces of a ceramic object and covering the “seams”. with gold or silver dust.
“Kintsugi”, which literally means “gold patch”, involves mending broken ceramic objects by covering the cracks with gold or silver dust (photo: One Kings Lane)
The result transcends the reuse of the item, and a kintsugi piece can be more valuable and appreciated than it was before it was broken. The “scars” of the piece, far from being hidden, concealed or concealed, are displayed enhanced and transform its aesthetic essence, highlighting the value of imperfection: history leaves its mark on an object, and that mark enriches it, makes it unique.
The apparent simplicity of this technique transcends utilitarianism to become a philosophy of life, a powerful metaphor for the art of resilience, for the need not to camouflage “scars”, for the claim of imperfection as a value. The French writer Céline Santini explains in her latest book, “Kintsugi. The art of resilience”, how to project this oriental philosophy to personal life. The beauty of the wounds, of the cracks, as a metaphor for the value of the mark left by the passage of time, as the essence of life itself.
Tableware ‘Kintsugi’, from the Spanish firm Vajillas de Ultramar. Vase from the ‘Hybrid’ collection by Seletti
The kintsugi fits like a glove in our current society. It has a lot to overcome in the face of adversity, the need to reuse, not to consume and throw away. There is also a taste for homemade DIY or handicrafts -what is now called DIY, “do it yourself”, and which is also a trend- and a taste for creativity, which allows us to give things a personal touch and give them a new look. life, or simply repair them and keep using them, instead of replacing them.
It is a simple technique and there are countless on the internet to put it into practice.
The Reiko Kaneko studio offers a repair service for pieces with the kintsugi technique. Mineheart Dish; Dos Studio dishes; and Umade vase
The unique beauty of broken dishes
It is also a magisterial formula of creativity that has created a school. Today there are legion of designers, artists and firms that take advantage of the unique beauty of “broken dishes”. The latest tableware collections from the Italian firm Seletti, Kintsugi and Hybrid are a good example. The “cracks” of the Kintsusi tableware are covered in 24-karat gold. The result is sophisticated, but it also adds a touch of irony, a touch of humor. With Hybrid he gives a twist, “gluing” disparate earthenware elements, even in size.
It is the same idea embodied by the British firm Mineheart, which sells its own . And from the London firm Reiko Kaneko, with its porcelain tableware, which also offers a kintsugi repair service in its workshop in Stoke-on-Trent, England.
Yee Sookyung sculpture; china fountain and felt applications by Alison Hunter; Tomomi Kamoshita bowls; and sculptural pieces of earthenware by Livia Marin
The Dutch company is specialized in the design of sustainable products and creative solutions inspired by kintsugi and they market a kintsugi for application to all types of materials (china, glass, wood, marble, hard plastic). It also sells a tool to apply the technique to textile elements, and personalize everything from a tablecloth to shoes or a piece of clothing.
The Spanish menswear firm Dos Studio, by the designer Moisés Nieto and the architect Valerio Canals, has launched a series of accessories for its latest autumn-winter collection (scarves, cushions, blankets) of sustainable production, using surplus fabrics from previous collections, reinterpreting the patchwork technique, and a collection of unique pieces, inspired by kintsugi, recomposing pieces of different ceramic plates joined with filaments of indigo blue epoxy resin.
Another Spanish firm, Vajillas de Ultramar, which designs and produces Limoges porcelain tableware “with a deliberately imperfect finish”, has just launched its hand-made and hand-painted. She is also supportive, she is part of a project for the benefit of the Fundación Cadete, which helps children with disabilities.
Interior of the Anahi restaurant, in Paris, with walls intervened using the kintsugi technique
A vein of creativity
In the field of art, kintsugi has become a source of inspiration. The work of artists such as Alison Hunter, Livia Marin, Tamomi Kamoshita, Paul Scott or Yee Sookyung reinterprets -with very different techniques, materials and approaches- this centuries-old technique to create unique pieces.
Also in interior design. The best example is Maud Bury’s intervention at the Anahi restaurant in Paris. Inaugurated in 2017, under the direction of the gastronomic entrepreneur Riccardo Giraudi, it was established in an old premises -once a butcher shop and grocery store- in which its white tiles full of “scars” were preserved as a result of the reforms and the passage of time. time, and were enhanced to the point of becoming a hallmark of the establishment: the golden lines that embellish the cracks in the walls have been used as a resource for the establishment’s corporate image. An example of ingenuity, economy of resources and refinement. A vein of creativity.
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