Years of water damage had left behind stains, textures and patterns that many would see as imperfections. Looking at them, however, I was reminded of mist, mountains and the layered landscapes often found in traditional Chinese shanshui paintings.

Rather than covering those marks, I chose to work with them. The existing damage became part of the composition, providing the foundation for a mountain scene that seemed to emerge naturally from the dial. In many places, the artwork follows forms that were already present, allowing the watch’s history to shape the final image.

The painting draws inspiration from the traditional pen-and-ink style associated with shanshui art. These landscapes are rarely intended as literal depictions of specific places. Instead, they seek to capture an atmosphere or feeling, using suggestion and negative space as much as detail.

What attracted me to the project was the relationship between the original dial and the finished artwork. The water that had once damaged the watch became an essential part of the landscape itself. What began as deterioration became the starting point for something new.

In that sense, the piece reflects a recurring theme within Resurfaced: finding value not despite the marks left by time, but because of them.