I had proposed an extended residency at the Tokyo Wonder Site art space to study kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold. However, between the time that I had proposed the project, and the time I began my residency in 2011, Japan was devastated by an an earthquake along its northern coast. The ensuing tsunami and nuclear meltdown in Fukushima resulted in 15,867 recorded deaths and 2,909 people missing.
In the literal wake of this event, my research took on new significance. Literally a third of Japan had been radically reshaped and broken. Was it possible to “repair” or remake all that had been shattered? I proposed to extend Duchampʼs allegorical procedure of redeeming common mass produced objects to include the Japanese practice of Kintsugi. My project, Kintsugi, restaged the practice of repairing broken pottery with a lacquer resin infused with powdered gold “recycling” once valued objects. At that moment of world economic depression the practice of kintsugi, for me, was one of optimism. I realized that Kintsugi was limited to the repair (or redemption) of valued unique collectible works of art. I wanted to revalue and once again elevate worthless broken objects into objects of desire. Viewing the thousands of broken objects strewn across the Japanese countryside I realized that everyday objects once tied to families and children now had added significance for those that remained. I decided to repair kitsch objects and mementos that are as valuable as the precious tea cups of the past.
