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Hui Press
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Background on the Voyages project |
In January 2004 Joyce Kozloff spent two weeks in the HuiPress studio working on
Voyages: Maui, a set of large woodcut prints which are part of her broader body of work with maps of
the Mediterranean and Venice.
The image of a map of Maui was cut into large sheets of thin veneer,
the blocks, five in all, were printed on three separate sheets of thin Japanese hadaura kozo paper.
Kozloff then hand painted the proofs with Japanese pigments and the prints were subsequently |
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joined at the seams and backed with an additional layer of the paper to add more
weight. Kozloff experimented with various color combinations during the proofing process, working on several
prints simultaneously. In certain cases, as in number eight, powdered metal and mica dust was added to the
freshly printed ink which give the prints a shimmering quality. Each of the proofs became a finished print
resulting in an edition of eight unique images.
Unlike much of Kozloff's cartographic imagery, these maps
are without additional overlying imagery, text, or subtle political commentary which anchor them in historical
context, jarring the viewer's preconceptions. Astute residents of Maui, however, comment that the maps are
"upside down," which is disconcerting to many. Keen observers will be further confused by the fact that the map
itself was taken from an early 20th century creation which showed land divisions made up by the white settlers
in the years previous, completely obliterating the traditional Hawaiian land divisions which had always existed
and were part of a cohesive system of land use. During carving, which lasted several days, Kozloff ignored the
divisions the whites had created, keeping some intact, and obliterating others. The result is a curious and
beautiful creation, that is neither political, nor topographic. Only the true cartographic shape of the island
is retained, floating upside down in a sea of uncertain currents. |
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