Untitled work by Manfred Egger

As an untitled work from Egger's 2021 IMC exhibition selection, this print operates within the conference's sumi theme — sumi being the carbon black ink that has anchored Japanese ink and print traditions for centuries. In mokuhanga, sumi can be applied to a keyblock for line work or used as a tonal pigment, producing dense blacks where the block is fully inked and softer grays where it is wiped down or graded with a damp brush. The kentō registration system — small notched marks carved into each block — allows successive impressions from separate blocks to align with millimeter precision, a technical foundation that enables both subtle overprinting and clean color separations. Egger's work in this idiom places him within the contemporary international community that has continued to develop mokuhanga's technical vocabulary outside Japan, where the medium's slow, hand-built character has been one of its principal attractions.