Artist Statement

“Fall down seven times, get up eight” is a saying in Japanese culture that calls to the resilience and strength within each of us. Inspired by this, I tempered it with an acknowledgment of the severity of the pain and loss these falls can cause, and that moment of resignation we feel afterwards, right before gearing up to rise again. Kintsugi, another Japanese inspiration, is when broken pottery is mended by filling cracks in fired clay with gold or other precious materials, and is about embracing, highlighting, and finding the beauty within the flaws. With this piece I wanted to capture the whole of these inspirations - the fall, the pain, the resignation, the refusal to give up, and ultimately, the notion that in the long run, we can be better off, stronger, and more beautiful for our harshest trials.