Abstract
The MASABAN project comprises nine prints, each an edition of five, by the members of the artist collective, Mokuhanga Sisters. Each artwork was created on sheets of washi paper using black sumi ink using the woodblock printing technique mokuhanga. The project was linked by medium and material rather than by subject, and this paper endeavours to explicate the themes that this material-led approach to art making has yielded by unpacking the material qualities of the printing process, the paper, ink and final display of the works at the Udatsu Paper and Craft Museum in Echizen in April 2024. The colour black is a particular unifying characteristic of the project, and much discussion was held among the Mokuhanga Sisters as to the thematic resonances of this colour.
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