New Skin

"New Skin" suggests renewal or transformation — the metaphor of shedding an old skin for a new one, which could apply to personal growth, cultural change, or the literal seasonal renewal of certain natural forms. Onchi worked through Japan's most dramatic period of historical transformation, and prints with titles suggesting renewal carry the weight of that context: the possibility, however difficult to achieve, of genuine renewal after catastrophe. The specific formal character of this print embodies whatever form that renewal takes.