IMC 2024 Echizen submission

Submitted to the 2024 International Mokuhanga Conference held in Echizen, Fukui Prefecture, this print was produced for an exhibition tied to one of Japan's three principal [washi](/glossary/washi)-producing regions. IMC submissions are typically printed on Echizen [kozo](/glossary/kozo) washi, a paper whose long fibers and even surface accept multiple registered impressions and tolerate the repeated dampening required by the water-based mokuhanga process. Without published documentation of the imagery, the work can be situated by its production context rather than its subject: contemporary mokuhanga submitted to IMC exhibitions tends toward abstract or semi-abstract compositions that foreground the medium's distinctive surface qualities — the soft tonal gradations achievable through [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi), the matte absorption of pigment into the paper, and the subtle embossing left by [baren](/glossary/baren) pressure. As co-author of the MI-LAB Mokuhanga Handbook and a 2017 Keiko Kadota Print Award recipient, Hamada works within the educational lineage of the Nagasawa Art Park and MI-LAB programs, and her IMC contributions sit at the intersection of contemporary practice and the conference's mission of preserving and advancing water-based woodblock printing as a living international art form.