parallaxis

kintsugi

if i could fix the broken with the gold, would it be mended enough?

if i could paint paths of love on your body, could it be repaired enough?

if i could fill your veins from the inside out, could i heal your mind enough?

if i could layer your broken skin, could i remove your pain enough?

if i could patch your torn thoughts, could i calm your storms enough?

if i could refit your pieces after puzzling, could you love me enough?

if i could fix the broken with the silver, would it be whole enough?

if i could breathe on your memories, could i warm them more?

if i could whisper to your thoughts, would they understand what i mean?

if i could dry the puddled pain, would there be no tired stain?

if i could pick you up from yourself, would my bundle be safe?

if i could feed your cares every day, would they full up and leave?

if i could fix your cracks with love, would that knit my love?

what is enough? may i never have that. may you never experience it.

most people would like damages to their broken items to be concealed and hidden by repair, making the object look like new. but the japanese art of kintsugi follows a different philosophy. rather than disguising the breakage, kintsugi restores the broken item, incorporating the damage into the aesthetic of the restored item, making it part of the object's history. kintsugi uses lacquer resin mixed with powdered gold, silver, platinum, copper or bronze, resulting into something more beautiful than the original. the original process is essentially a form of lacquer art. broken pieces are glued back together using urushi lacquer, derived from the sap of the chinese lacquer tree. the collection of the sap and processing of the urushi oil is difficult because of its toxicity. (before the urushiol has been absorbed by the skin, it can be removed with soap and water. however, time is of the essence, as 50% of the urushiol can be absorbed within 10 minutes. once urushiol has penetrated into the skin, attempting to remove it with water is ineffective). but once it dries and hardens, the toxic effects of the urushi oil are essentially nullified, making the lacquer ware safe to handle.

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