Mareike is a London-based artist engaged in the traditional craft of Mokuhanga/ Japanese woodblock printing. She focuses on giving this traditional Japanese heritage a modern voice. With her passion for the woodblock carving aspect of the craft she develops an entirely new design language, creating hand-carved objects of art. With great respect for the traditional method, Mareike strives to honour its essence and seeks to relate her craftsmanship to develop collaborative design projects.
ABOUT
Mareike stepped into the art of Mokuhanga in search of a sustainable printing technique while advancing her career as a designer. A residency at the foot of Mount Fuji, Japan, in 2013 illuminated her on the wider impacts of the craft on Japanese art and culture, which has developed despite the shortage of energy and resources during the Edo period. This knowledge profoundly impacted Mareike’s development of her art practice. She frequently returns to Japan to enhance her skills and abilities by training with her sensei, a master woodblock carver based in Kyoto. The endlessly refinement of the craft, that has been built on the use of natural materials, such as water-based pigments and nori, the binding glue made from rice flour and water, as well as the hand-carving process with knives and chisels and the hand-printing method of Mokuhanga, all grant her the solid foundation to thrive forward in her creative expression.
