Untitled

An untitled mokuhanga print from Idris Veitch's Kingston studio. The technique under which the work was produced is the traditional Japanese water-based woodblock method, in which separately carved blocks register the image through kentō marks, water-soluble pigments are brushed onto the block surface, and impressions are taken by hand onto dampened [washi](/glossary/washi) using a [baren](/glossary/baren). The resulting surface is marked by the characteristic absorption and soft edge that distinguish mokuhanga from oil-based relief printing, and offers the possibility of subtle [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradients within each color pass. Untitled works are a frequent feature of contemporary mokuhanga practice, where many artists prefer to let the print stand on its own visual terms rather than attaching it to a named subject. Veitch is among a very small number of mokuhanga practitioners working in the Caribbean and is listed in the Mokumap directory maintained by Mokuhanga Magic. His continued production extends the contemporary geography of a medium whose international reach is documented through that network.