Basal Elements
The Basal Elements series emerged from a deep fascination with the ancient Japanese marbling technique of Suminagashi. In this traditional practice, artists gently drop circles of black and indigo ink onto the surface of water, then guide the patterns by blowing softly across them - creating fluid, smoke-like forms that are then transferred onto paper. Drawn to the organic movement of ink in water, I began my own experiments, forming pools directly on paper and dispersing the ink by touching it with a paintbrush dipped in soap. The reaction was mesmerizing - forms blooming and dissolving like something alive, an evolving process both delicate and unpredictable.
Instinctually, I chose to keep the works in black ink, honoring the spirit of the traditional technique and allowing the focus to remain on form, movement, and contrast. If Organic Wreaths evoke the idea of habitats, Basal Elements feel like the earliest life forms - silent drifters suspended in an unknown space, primitive yet complex. Sometimes, they remind me of stones or minerals, seemingly inert yet holding mysteries beyond our perception - perhaps a kind of consciousness we cannot comprehend, limited as we are by our own human experience of time and awareness. If you look closely, some of these forms appear to interact, drawn to or repelled by one another, caught in a quiet dialogue. The cutouts, once again, echo and contrast the ink forms, reinforcing the idea of impermanence and transformation.
“... seemingly inert yet holding mysteries beyond our perception - perhaps a kind of consciousness we cannot comprehend, limited as we are by our own human experience of time and awareness.”
Recently, I began working with handmade paper crafted from cotton rags. Its raw, tactile texture feels like an extension of the ink itself - an organic surface that enhances the fluidity and depth of the forms. Just as the ink moves unpredictably, so too does the paper, absorbing and guiding the medium in ways that cannot be entirely controlled. In this way, the artwork becomes a collaboration - between ink, water, paper, and chance - mirroring the forces at play in the natural world.
