Kintsugi: centuries old Japanese art form of embracing damage

In Japanese, "kintsugi" means "golden joinery," a technique that involves emphasising rather than hiding the cracks. Photo: AFP

If you're about to throw out that broken vase, thinking it's worthless, then think again. With the Japanese art of kintsugi, you can turn it into gold with the power of upcycling!

This traditional Japanese art can be used to fix up porcelain, ceramics and potentially even fabrics. The idea is to transform the cracks of a broken object into aesthetic lines and markings, using a special lacquer embellished with gold powder.