OSAN / NEKO MUSUME
SFSA DRAWING OPEN
2024

The Drawing Open is an annual exhibition run by Second Floor Studios in their No Format gallery space, featuring 100 artists from in and around London. It coincides with the Spring Open Studios at their Deptford Foundry location, where I share a studio. You can read my artist statement below, and scroll through more images above.

osan : chicken girl reimagined

Because generational trauma is better with cats.

This riso print is a reimagination of Katsushika Hokusai’s ukiyo-e woodblock print Yura no Minato Sengen Choja, also known as Niwatori Musume (Chicken Girl) from the 1815 picture book Ehon Joruri Zekku (Mixed Verses on Joruri Theatre).

The original print depicts a popular scene from an 18th century play in which Osan, the daughter of the rich but evil merchant Sansho Dayu, turns into a wild dancing and cackling chicken during a bout of generational karma-induced insanity as she tries to rescue her lover Tatebe, resulting in both of them dying tragically. My version imagines a different life for Osan: one unhampered by an evil father, a captured lover or mental illness – but with cats.

A big thank you to SFSA studio mate Naoko Tagai for her indispensable help in researching the original Hokusai print and the story behind it. Naoko has been making her own traditional woodblock prints as well: 2024 marks the year of the dragon, and the 7th print in her 12-year series.

Riso printed by Risotto Studio, who generously share all their riso knowledge for free and were incredibly helpful while I was trying to stuff what would be years of learning into a single thought.

Riso print on aged paper, AP edition of 5 in repurposed vintage frames, available during the Second Floor Studios Drawing Open 2024 and afterwards, in my online shop.