Halfway to Kyoto

Concept

The "Halfway to Kyoto" series of rhizographs is part of an experimental process. I have been awarded an Artist Residency opportunity in Kyoto for the spring of 2023, where I will work on the intersection of architecture, design and visual art within the theme of urbanism. Rhizography is a Japanese-originated reproduction technology that is a hybrid between digital and manual printmaking processes. The series is related to the architecture of Kyoto, showing details of the city in an almost abstracted magnification. We can explore architectural elements of Kyoto's Kinkaku-ji, street scenes and other everyday objects from the city's life, all combined with the vibrant, vivid colours typical of the technique. RISO is the name of a Japanese printer and ink company. Noboru Hayama started his company in post-war Japan (1946) and gave it the name RISO, which means 'ideal' in Japanese. Hayama chose this poetic name for his new reproduction process because he felt it was important that people should not lose their ideals even in times of despair. Among the advantages of the technology is that it uses a soy-based natural ink.