Leah Kharibian

A mokuhanga portrait of Leah Kharibian, made by Andrea G. Artz as part of her series of single-sitter woodblock prints. Working from a photographic original, Artz reduces the image to a limited set of tonal separations, carves each onto its own block, and prints them in sequence onto [washi](/glossary/washi) dampened to absorb the water-based pigments characteristic of Japanese woodblock. The [baren](/glossary/baren) is used to transfer pigment by hand, and kentō registration marks ensure that successive impressions align. [Bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradations replace the photograph's continuous tone, producing soft transitions across the face and hair, while sharper outlines from a key block hold the sitter's structure. The matte, paper-embedded surface that results is distinct from the glossier relief prints of European traditions. Trained as a portrait photographer before completing an MFA at the University of Leeds, Artz uses these prints to extend portraiture across media; alongside her three-dimensional folded paper portraits and installation work, the sheet prints form the planar half of an interdisciplinary practice.