George Savill

A portrait print of George Savill, part of Reed's series depicting figures from the New Zealand arts community. Reed's portrait mokuhanga typically reduces likeness to flat planes of carved tone, relying on the contrast between inked block and unprinted washi rather than line description. Given the 2021 IMC sumi theme, this work likely employs a restricted palette dominated by black ink, with bokashi gradations producing modulated shadow across the face. The carved keyblock would establish facial structure while colour blocks supply hair, ground or background tone. As mokuhanga, the print is hand-burnished with a baren onto absorbent washi, producing the soft, slightly diffused edges characteristic of water-based pigment rather than the harder line of oil-based relief. The portrait sits within a wider Reed practice that uses mokuhanga as a medium of cultural exchange between Japanese technique and New Zealand subject matter.