Work / Kintsugi
Kintsugi
- Role
- Design & Making
- Year
- 2024
Front portrait of model wearing the white Kintsugi-inspired head mask with gold crack lines and blue floral motifs.2024
About
Sculptural head mask — paper mache and mixed media.
A sculptural head mask inspired by kintsugi — the Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics with gold. A paper-mache shell was formed over a cling-film and paper-mache cast of the head, smoothed with paper-mache clay and joint compound, then sanded to a porcelain finish.
Raised crack lines were laid in hot glue, sealed and painted so the gold seams and blue floral motifs read as mended porcelain across the fitted form.
Costumes
Front portrait of model wearing the white Kintsugi-inspired head mask with gold crack lines and blue floral motifs. Three-quarter angle portrait showcasing the dimensional contour and painted porcelain aesthetic of the Kintsugi mask. Left side profile view emphasizing the fitted structural shape and delicate floral artwork on the Kintsugi mask.
Process
Initial cling wrap and paper mache armature formed over head mold.
Applying paper mache clay over dried mold on subject's head. Fitted paper mache mask structure showing cutouts and raw sculpted edge contours. Subject wearing mask after joint compound smoothing and hot glue application of raised crack lines. Mask on head form in studio during painting and sealing with modge podge and gold pigment.
