IMC 2024 Echizen submission

Created for the 2024 International Mokuhanga Conference held in Echizen — the historic [washi](/glossary/washi)-producing region in Fukui Prefecture — this print situates Mia O's practice within the contemporary mokuhanga community that gathers triennially around the medium's traditional craft and its experimental futures. Consistent with her broader body of work, the composition likely employs geometric abstraction rather than representational imagery, with carefully registered color fields built up through successive impressions from multiple key blocks. The use of Echizen washi as the printing substrate is particularly apt for a conference submission staged in the village where that paper is made: its long [kozo](/glossary/kozo) fibers accept multiple passes of the [baren](/glossary/baren) without breaking down, allowing for the layered, luminous color saturation that characterizes Mia's approach. Hand-mixed pigments applied with brush and worked into the paper through baren pressure produce the soft tonal gradients ([bokashi](/glossary/bokashi)) and translucent surfaces she favors. The print extends her ongoing investigation of nature distilled into pure form, and reflects her position within an international generation of artists working in the medium outside its historical Japanese lineage.