For years, Kristjana has collected books on Japanese woodcuts and silk printing. Everything about the method and style appeals to Kristjana; the graceful, graphical sensibilities and the little personal features and moods that they evoke. In Kristjana's eyes, no one does landscapes better than the traditional Japanese woodcutters. The intricacy of carving in these old pieces is considered a miracle of sculpture.
In 1853, four American ships steamed into the harbour of Uraga and forced Japan to open up their ancient guarded country to the rigour of international trade with detested foreigners. After an internal struggle, the Japanese felt they had no choice but to adopt western technology in order to compete, so traditional woodcutting and silk printing was replaced by newer western methods.
Akari (red cold) and Niko (red child) make up the two pieces in Kristjana's Silk Print Exploration, a gentle re-imagining of a portrait of a Japanese woman, and a mother with her child. Japanese women were famed for their beautiful, flawless skin, so whom better to portray this than a white lear parrot.
These prints originated from a very old Japanese silk screen print. The piece was so delicate that when it was taken out of its protective glass frame, it started to fall apart, and had to be photographed in order to preserve it.
