Kumadori (Namazu)

Kumadori (Namazu), an artist's proof from 2002, combines two distinctly Japanese cultural references: kumadori is the bold, geometric face makeup worn by kabuki actors in aragoto (rough style) performances, and namazu is the giant catfish of Japanese mythology believed to cause earthquakes. The combination of theatrical performance and folkloric disaster suggests a print that plays with the conventions of both subjects — the dramatic facial geometry of kumadori applied to or juxtaposed with the earthquake-fish — in a characteristically playful synthesis.