Steam

"Steam" likely depicts a figure within a Japanese bathhouse (sento) or hot spring (onsen), a subject Paul Binnie has explored repeatedly throughout his career. The print draws on the long tradition of bath imagery in ukiyo-e — from Kiyonaga and Utamaro's bijin-ga to the more atmospheric shin-hanga treatments — while bringing a contemporary sensibility to the nude figure. Compositions of this kind rely heavily on bokashi (gradient printing), with the printer building up subtle tonal washes to suggest the diffuse atmosphere of rising vapour. The mokuhanga process, using washi, water-based pigments, and a baren, allows for the soft, breathing quality of moisture-laden air that distinguishes such work from Western printmaking. Within Binnie's oeuvre, bath and onsen imagery sits alongside his bijin-ga and figure studies as part of his ongoing engagement with traditional Japanese subjects reimagined through a present-day lens, often featuring contemporary models in classically inflected settings rendered through the collaborative shin-hanga workflow with Japanese carvers and printers.