Echoes of the Feminine

2024

Marbling/printmaking

The summer before my senior year of high school, I volunteered at an arts workshop where I was introduced to marbling and suminagashi. Alongside the students I was mentoring, I quickly developed a passion for the medium. Outside of the workshop, I extensively experimented, ultimately producing around 65 prints. As the bath of carrageenan muddied and my paints thinned, I reached a natural close to the series, with this artwork being one of my final prints.
The interplay between the biomorphic composition and the intentionally manipulated elements evoked a sense of narrative that felt inexpressible—present, yet without explicit representation. This brought to mind a question posed by Ursula Le Guin in one of her essays: 'What would a yin utopia be?' The feminine—an element of yin—became a lens through which Le Guin explored an alternative mode of thinking, one rooted in unconscious, emotional imagery.
In my work, I sought to explore narrative in this non-representational and yin way. To do this, I enlarged the piece and incorporated acrylic and oil paint, focusing on creating dimension and subtle hints of familiarity without blunt reference to tangible objects.

11 x 15 inches