“Though our remit is much broader now, at Sarah Myerscough we made our name initially specialising in wood sculpture craft and design so my heart was drawn to this piece exploring the imperfections of timber. What I love about the material here is that it’s had an entire life before it’s even reached the artist’s hands. The work grapples with the question of how we express that life – successes and traumas and I like how the artist considers this through healing and the scabbing of the wood.

This idea of the imperfect perfect is a real zeitgeist theme – the concepts of Kintsugi [traditional Japanese technique of repairing ceramics with lacquer and a metal powder usually made from gold or silver] and Wabi Sabi [Japanese philosophy of accepting and celebrating the aesthetica of imperfections] are really relevant today. I’m glad they are because I think there is a real beauty in vulnerability.”