“Your stories determines your life. Integrity defines your stories.” Deeply moved by this quote, we empathize and believe that it is our mission as an artist/designer to send products with a story to the world. 

 

We handmade 15 bowls of the same design and shipped them to various countries. Our recipient: Yves Klein. An iconic figure in French monochronism, Klein patented the color, “International Klein Blue," with which he attempted to visualize the invisible. The bowls sent to Klein, now deceased, traveled to countries such as Turkey, Japan, Egypt, and Brazil. They returned to us as invalid mail. One box came back strewn with rough scribbles, while another came back wrapped over with foreign postal tape. After three months, only six returned. The damages on the boxes reflect the rough travels across the borders. Out of the six bowls, five were broken. Only one came back intact. 

 

Our project utilizes a traditional Japanese technique called Kintsugi. Kintsugi is one of the oldest recycling practices, where cracked ceramic objects are pieced together using lacquer and gold. Not only utilized for repair, the addition of gold streaks accentuates the aesthetic value of the object.

 

Instead of the traditional gold, we used the original “International Klein Blue” pigment to revive the bowls returned to us. The blue cracks and the damaged boxes recount the unique stories of each bowl's long journey to and from their country.  

 

This is Another Homage to Yves Klein.