Untitled

Untitled, this fourth print from Kenal's MI-LAB 2024 residency reflects the structured progression of the Basic Training Program A. Participants spend several weeks moving from initial block preparation through carving, proofing, and final printing, with each stage taught by working Japanese printers. Echizen — the host town in Fukui Prefecture — has produced washi for over 1,500 years, and the program's location places artists in proximity to the paper mills that supply the residency. The absence of a title suggests this work belongs to the experimental portion of Kenal's residency output, possibly a colour study or a test of layering sequence. In multi-block mokuhanga, the order of impressions matters: lighter pigments are typically printed first, with darker keyblocks (the line-bearing block, when used) impressed last. The print contributes to Kenal's emerging engagement with a technique that asks the artist to think simultaneously as carver, painter, and pressman — roles that in the historic ukiyo-e workshop were divided among specialists.