Lanterns

Lanterns glow in this oban-format woodblock print, their paper or silk surfaces transmitting warm light that Lum renders through the translucent qualities of water-based pigment on washi paper. Japanese lanterns — stone lanterns in temple gardens, paper lanterns lining festival streets, hanging lanterns marking shop entrances — are ubiquitous features of the visual landscape, and they offered Lum a subject that was simultaneously decorative and atmospheric. The challenge of depicting artificial light in a printed medium fascinated many woodblock artists: unlike painting, where luminosity can be built through layered glazes, the printmaker must carve absence — leaving paper bare or thinly inked to suggest illumination. Lum's training in Japanese techniques gave her the vocabulary to handle this challenge with confidence.