The art is in showing and even highlighting the scars, rather than hiding them. The technique can also be seen as a metaphor for healing emotional wounds.
The word kintsugi (金継ぎ) comes from the Japanese kin (gold) and atsugi (connection), and thus literally means “golden connection. In Japanese beauty doctrine, the marks of breakage and repair contribute to the beauty of an object. Kintsugi was developed in Japan in the late 15th century and over time also practiced in China, Vietnam and Korea.
The technique is an expression of the philosophical movement wabi sabi, a Buddhist worldview that emphasizes the beauty of imperfection and impermanence. The shards of a broken piece are glued back together with Urusei lacquer, the holes of missing pieces are filled with Urushi paste. On that urushi, a thin layer of precious metal is then sprinkled in gold, silver or platinum.
In Japanese doctrine, the object thus becomes more valuable after the repair than before. The restoration highlights the fault lines and thus the history of the object, making it more precious. The same reasoning can apply to ourselves. Our past leaves its mark in our hearts, our bodies, our souls. They witness everything we experience.
The art then consists in leaving the cracks and fissures visible and not wanting to hide them, turning them into golden scars, so to speak, that make us stronger, more beautiful and more valuable. We do not need to hide our imperfections and scars because they tell the story of our lives. Comforting thought, isn’t it?
