Promise

Promise is a 2016 mokuhanga still life whose title may refer to the Promise margarine brand, a packaged American food product, or may carry a more personal, thematic meaning. The Birds & Flowers subject classification suggests the composition incorporates floral or natural elements alongside whatever object the title designates. Nam's mokuhanga prints from this period frequently gather domestic and consumable items within quiet, sparsely arranged compositions printed on dampened [washi](/glossary/washi) with water-based pigments. The soft [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradations achievable in mokuhanga printing give her still lifes an atmospheric quality that distinguishes them from harder-edged approaches to consumer subjects, situating the depicted objects in a diffuse, reflective light.