Treasure

Kintsugi (金継ぎ, “golden joinery”) is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with gold. By repairing these bass relief bird sculpts using the kintsugi process, I aim to conjure a metaphor for our ‘broken’ ecosystems. Birds are among many species who maintain interdependent relations with trees and are subsequently affected by deforestation. Their extinction rates may trigger what environmental philosopher Glenn Albrecht has called solastalgia, an emotional or existential distress caused by environmental change. Instead of letting this emotional state lead to inaction, humans can act to value the damaged environment and transform it to make something treasured. My use of kintsugi is a call to maintain the rage and fight for our dwindling ecosystems.

Name:Kassandra Bossell