IMC 2024 Echizen submission

This print was produced for the International Mokuhanga Conference held in 2024 at Echizen, in Fukui Prefecture — a region whose centuries-old [washi](/glossary/washi)-making tradition has long supplied paper to woodblock printmakers in Japan and abroad. Conference submissions are exhibited as part of the IMC programme and typically demonstrate technical command within a constrained format. The print would have been carved on cherry or shina blocks and printed by hand with [baren](/glossary/baren)-applied pressure onto Echizen washi, using water-based pigments registered through kentō marks. IMC contributions often foreground the interaction between paper, pigment and pressure that defines the medium, with artists selecting [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradations or registration sequences that showcase craft skill. For Hey, contributing to IMC 2024 continues a sustained involvement with the international mokuhanga community that began with his Nagasawa Art Park residency in 2000 under Tadashi Toda, Shunzo Matsuda and Kyoko Sakamoto, and reflects his position as a European artist working within the Japanese tradition.