Floating Worlds 1

This triptych is inspired by the Japanese ukiyo yi cultural movement of the Edo period and highly decorated woodblock prints combined with painting. In this case, on a dyed fabric the flowers are screen printed and embroidered on a painted background, the “devoured” technique making the lower parts transparent.
The gold leaf that frames each piece refers to the "torii", a traditional Japanese gate most often found at the entrance to or inside a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition between the mundane and the sacred.
In modern culture, the term ukiyo, "the floating world", refers instead to a state of mind: living in the moment, being detached from the worries of life.