Reef

Reef presents the complex, layered environment of a tropical coral reef, a subject that draws on Kiggell's immersion in the marine biodiversity of Southeast Asian waters. The reef's architecture — branching corals, encrusting organisms, and the play of filtered light — translates into the vocabulary of mokuhanga through the interplay of carved line, flat color fields, and transparent washes. Multiple overprinted layers of water-based pigment on [washi](/glossary/washi) build the spatial depth characteristic of reef environments without sacrificing the flatness inherent to the woodblock medium. Figures within the composition may represent divers or swimmers, situating the underwater environment in relation to human presence and scale.