Kintsugi Biscuits

Photographer Andy Wiener and I photographed the playfully 'mended' biscuits made by children and young people using the services at the Tavi. They were inspired by the Japanese philosophy of Wabi Sabi and the art of Kintsugi, where a broken bowl is mended and the crack filled with gold as a celebration and mark of resilience.

Wabi Sabi is about accepting imperfection and the idea that nothing lasts for ever and the inevitability of knocks and bumps along the way become part of an object’s rich history. The biscuits are more beautiful for their ‘mends’ and in fact become something else. This philosophy can be applied to the natural world, where things are in a state of constant change; decay, growth and rebirth, but could also be a useful way to think about ourselves and the relationships we form with people as well as the objects around us.