Kintsugi

Sam Hofman

New imagery from Sam exploring an ancient Japanese art form ‘Kintsugi’:

It is thought that the Japanese art of Kintsugi began in the early 15th century when shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa sent a damaged porcelain tea bowl back to China for repair. It returned having been restored with metal staples. Subsequently Japanese craftsmen began to seek new methods of repair which were aesthetically pleasing.

This craft of repairing broken ceramics with gold has since become a celebrated art form of its own, adding a narrative and aesthetic complexity to the pieces which have been mended. This series of images capture moments of abstraction and imperfection inspired by this art form.