05 May 2018

Street kintsukuroi

(via)

The ancient Japanese art of pottery repair, also known as kintsugi, is brought to the streets in the work of Brooklyn artist Rachel Sussman. The technique traditionally involves the process of fixing broken pottery with a lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, resulting in an a repair that pays homage to the object’s history. On the streets, the "repair" of worn and weathered surfaces will itself eventually be worn away.

Another facet of the work is photographic "studies", the photos treated with enamel paint and metallic dust -
See more at thisiscolossal.com/2017/02/street-kintsugi-rachel-sussman/

I've written about kintsukuroi in the past (2013) - here and here - and these posts have proved very popular (thousands of hits). 

More and more we are being advised to stop buying, buying, buying and have just a few "good" things; knowing how to look after (and repair) them is part of that ethos. You can order a kintsukuroi kit online, or use a quicker method, with waterproof glue and gold paint, that gives the effect. This might not apply to mending the street outside your home, though......

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