Sunnu Rebecca Choi

This mokuhanga portrait of Sunnu Rebecca Choi belongs to Artz's ongoing sequence of single-figure prints derived from her photographic studio practice. The image is built up from several carved blocks, each one carrying a separate tone or colour layer printed by hand on [washi](/glossary/washi), with kentō registration marks aligning successive impressions. Where a photograph renders the sitter's features through continuous gradation, the woodblock process forces a decision at every transition: edges become carved lines, mid-tones become areas of [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) where pigment is graded across the block with a damp brush. The portrait is thus both a likeness and a record of that translation. Artz, originally trained as a portrait photographer before completing her MFA at Leeds, treats mokuhanga as a way of slowing down and re-materialising the digital image. The sitter's name in the title is consistent with her practice of identifying each subject individually rather than abstracting them into types, keeping the work tied to a specific encounter in the studio.