Chelsea Pettitt

I felt compelled to select this work by Ray Morimura, not only because of it being a contemporary Japanese print, which falls more within my professional remit, but also because it is an example of a traditional woodblock technique that has stood the test of time. The iconic Japanese woodblock printing technique, synonymous with the ukiyo-e (or ‘floating worlds’) genre which inspired many great artists throughout the centuries, is a form of artmaking that remains rooted in its past, but feels entirely present in a contemporary space too. Japanese culture is synonymous with nature; poetry, writing and art historically have been inspired by the seasons. But this work also links nature beautifully to the Buddhist and Shinto shrines which are spread across the countryside. In “Nachi Falls” – depicting the tallest single waterfall in Japan – there remains a sense of orderliness and clean lines, a colour palette reminiscent of sumi-e (black Chinese ink) paintings rather than the famous ukiyo-e colourful imagery. Instead, Morimura brings it into the modern day with a precision and view of nature that defies the realist movement of some landscape paintings from Japan. The bold edges and perfectly straight waterfall draw your eye to an overall pattern of movement. Far from realistic, this becomes an idealised portrait of a shrine in the mountains where one goes to escape, especially as the waterfall itself represents longevity and is worshipped as the home of a Shinto deity. Given the current mood of the world to retreat from others, this beautiful print allows the viewer to escape into a forest thick with trees, spirituality and a perfect solitude.