Black Heaven

Medium: Etching and Drypoint on Gampi

Concept:

Black Heaven examines trauma and loss through the World War II bombing of Japan, created while listening to my mother recount her experiences during the actual bombing in Tokyo. Using a contemporary, process-driven approach, layered etching and drypoint on delicate Gampi paper accumulate like an archive of absence and destruction. Repeated gestures—burnishing, biting, and reworking—trace the tension between control and chance, allowing the material to hold both devastation and resilience. The work transforms historical rupture into a reflective space, exploring impermanence, vulnerability, and the ways collective memory resonates through material and process.