FRAGMENTS FROM THE FLOATING WORLD
woodcuts
Fragment from the Floating World woodcut.2021 This work is titled Fragment from the Floating World, partly in reference to the Japanese era of Ukiyo-e period of 1603-1867 . Ukiyo-e means ‘pictures of the floating world’ it came to mean the hedonistic lifestyle of the merchant classes of the period. The ‘floating world’ referred to the licensed brothel and theatre districts of Japans major cities in the Edo (Tokyo) period.
By the 1740’s woodcuts were being produced en mass in something akin to sweatshops/laundries. I feel we are currently experiencing a Ukiyo period in Ireland. The shimmering nature of the work emphasises a reluctance to focus, hanging these large sheets of Japanese paper like laundry in the gallery space and the historic Ukiyo-e connotations of woodblock printing with its depictions of pleasure and vice also an aspect of historical societal views of the Magdalene’s consolidates another approach to the research objective in Active Forgetting. These prints are taken from one large wood cut which is in turn from the smallest tree bark drawing I made at BKN. I made this large work 135 x 100 cms at Edition Basel during the 10 day Ubergang ( Transition) Residency July 2021 and exhibited it at the Basel Papier Muhler Museum. The prints were printed on both sides of Shikishushi Japanese paper , 31 g and in metallic ink , making for an interactive viewing as the audience needs to move around to catch sight of the reflective image. I was exploring focusing and transparency in this work. It is my first Mokuhanga print. Edition of 5.
MOKUHANGA
Woodblock printing from Japan (木版画, mokuhanga)
A technique best known for its use in the ukiyo-e artistic genre of single sheets, but it was also used for printing books in the same period. Widely adopted in Japan during the Edo period (1603–1868) and similar to woodcut in Western printmaking in some regards, the mokuhanga technique differs in that it uses water-based inks—as opposed to western woodcut, which typically uses oil-based inks. The Japanese water-based inks provide a wide range of vivid colors, glazes, and transparency.
99 X 132 CM DOUBLE PRINTS ON ONE SHEET
61 X 99 CM SINGLE PRINTS ON ONE SHEET
Sekishu shi Japanese paper 31g
In September 2022 Oona Hyland will take up residence at The MI-LAB residential studio located at the foot of Mount Fuji, an area that was registered as a World Cultural Heritage site by UNESCO in 2013. The premises are close to Lake Kawaguchi, in peaceful rural surroundings. The workshop is led by professional mokuhanga artists, master carvers and printers. This enables participating artists from differing cultural backgrounds to explore their interests through the traditional techniques of mokuhanga.
This masterclass has been made possible by an Agility Award from the Arts Council of Ireland.