Kintsugi: Emphasizing Every Imperfection

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery. It's a meticulous method that involves putting back broken pieces together using a special mixture of lacquer and metal dust. There is no attempt to hide or cover the imperfections in the object. The flaws and repair work are rather highlighted with great care and intent. It is deeply connected to the concept of wabi-sabi or the philosophy of embracing the flawed and imperfect. And from it, we can draw inspiration on how to approach life and its many accompanying challenges.

At a young age, we are taught that perfection is a positive goal to aspire to. There is merit to that, especially when it comes to instilling the value of hard work and perseverance. However, we lose sight of other important things when we get caught up in the pursuit of perfection. We develop tunnel vision and start to disregard the other beautiful things around us.

Absolute perfection is a myth. No matter how great we become at what we do, we'll never reach this stage that we've made up in our minds. The same can be said about our approach to our creative work. Sometimes when we take pictures, we become so conscious about how the frames might turn out that we pour more time and effort into setting up the shot than actually appreciating our work.

It's a mistake that a lot of us are guilty of. While there is nothing wrong with aiming for decent photographs, it's also important to recognize life is also happening right in front of us. Sure, we may get blurs, light leaks, and underexposed shots but that's just the way things are. We should take time to also appreciate the "happy accidents" along with the perfectly composed pictures in our albums.

Things around us will always change. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. It is inevitable. How we react to those changes is what matters. You're feeling bummed out because you accidentally opened your camera while it's still loaded? Go through the entire roll and see what you got in those frames. Used a different ISO setting for your photo walk? Pay no mind. You might find something you like in that roll. Roll the dice and find out.

While it's not bad to be careful, worrying too much about these little things can affect the way you look at life and the way you live it. Too much fussing about what you did wrong won't solve your problem. Of course, not caring about it at all won't either but the imperfections will stay no matter what you do.

It's up to you whether you choose to abhor them or embrace them and do better next time. After all, imperfection is everywhere in the world and that's okay. Your photos will do just fine.

Also check out our recent in depth article on the subject of Beauty in Imperfection

written by cheeo on 2023-06-12 #culture #light-leaks #imperfection #analogue-photography #blurs #film-photography #kintsugi