The Hokusai exhibition was a long-awaited addition to the MFA's collection of work. First, to understand the meaning of his work and style, I decided to make a visit to the exhibition.

Hokusai's work uses ukiyo-e, translating to 'pictures of the floating world', which is a process of creating colored and inked prints using carved wood blocks. Hokusai did not carve the wood himself, but rather passed his work to someone who would meticulously replicate it in a woodblock, traditionally using cherry wood.

One of the most prominent themes of the exhibition is the blend of modern art with Hokusai's work. With this, I started designing some rough posters of abstract waves, imitating his Great Wave.

Initially, I tried the theme of abstract waves and the blending of modern aesthetics with Old Japan. The red circle was prominent in these earlier designs as a symbol for Japan's flag. About 50 different iterations were made.

However, the last quick iteration of a poster with the wood as a background gave me inspiration to play on my strengths with the creation of this poster: physical fabrication and woodworking.

What if it was possible to carve Hokusai's famous Great Wave into cherry wood myself? I started exploring this possibility by laser-cutting a traced graphic of the wave, and using this to trace the wave onto wood using graphite. This decision proved to be arduous: every carve made into the wood reflected depth and would create a larger shadow that can be picked up in a photo, making consistency more integral to the success of this idea than ever.

As this design became more fleshed out, I wanted to replicate the ukiyo-e nature of Hokusai's prints. With some further editing and professional photography lighting, the poster was completed.

The parchment-like background from afar may seem like paper, but upon closer inspection, the wood texture and "inked on" letters pays tribute to Hokusai's techniques and is appreciated by any enthusiast of his work. The abstracted wave adds a modern touch - bringing the viewer back to the present and pays homage to the virality of the wave.