Jim Wheeler

A mokuhanga portrait of Jim Wheeler, continuing Reed's series of New Zealand arts figures rendered through Japanese water-based woodblock technique. The likeness is built from carved tonal areas rather than descriptive line: a keyblock supplies the facial structure while supporting blocks contribute hair, ground and any second hue. [Bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradations across the face are produced by brushing graded [sumi](/glossary/sumi) onto the dampened block immediately before each impression, then burnishing the paper with a [baren](/glossary/baren) so that the pigment sinks into the [washi](/glossary/washi). The result is a soft, matte black with absorbent edges, distinct from the harder line of oil-based relief. Consistent with the 2021 IMC sumi exhibition theme in Nara, the palette is likely concentrated in black with at most a restrained supporting tone. As a portrait, the print operates within Reed's wider project of using mokuhanga, a transplanted Japanese tradition, to record the visual arts community of New Zealand.