On the Surface

Surface, both as a physical boundary and as a metaphor for visible versus hidden depths, is the subject of this oban mokuhanga print. Joshua Rome uses the layered water-based woodblock technique to explore what lies at the interface between above and below, whether that boundary is a water surface, a ground plane, or the paper surface itself. The mokuhanga process is uniquely suited to this inquiry because each printed layer literally sits on the surface of the previous one, creating a physical stratigraphy visible in the finished print. Rome builds his image through these accumulated transparent passes, allowing earlier colors to show through later ones in a way that makes the print's own surface an active participant in its meaning. The title invites the viewer to consider what is shown and what is concealed beneath the visible.