Calmness and composure, especially in a difficult situation.

Ascending the double-volume studio space in the NIROX residency. I am suspended precariously from the ceiling.

There is an absurd architectural anomaly within and without.  The challenge, to carry out the task of gold leafing the terraced studio space.  The act is linked to the ancient Japanese philosophy of Kintsugi, the art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted gold or mixed with powdered gold to  highlight and embrace the flaws. By creating conceptual links to this technique, the notion of mending an area in reverence rather than focusing on the absence, is brought to the foreground.

This ancient technique is conceptually linked to the notion of an improvement through repair and rebirth. These ideas shift the value of a worn or broken object. It marks a time-based event, a memory of sorts, layering a new form of life rather than deeming the object as damaged or dead.

Similarly the Japanese philosophies of Wabi-sabi and Mushin (meaning ‘no- mind’) encompassing the notions of cyclical change, acceptance and non- attachment and is closely linked to our experiences as humans. The lightness and delicacy of the gold leaf medium speaks metaphorically through these principles.

Filmed and documented by Jess Sterk, Gina Kraft, Lilly Oosthuizen