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Film: Japanese woodblock printing exposed in Davin Haukebo-Bol's Sway

Date
13 February 2014

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There’s a lot of great process films out there that take you behind-the-scenes in the studios of fashion designers, illustrators, artists and designers. There’s absolutely shed-loads that demonstrate a specific print technique in real depth, but there’s really not many that show the intricacies of a process with enough detail to allow you to have a crack at it yourself while simultaneously captivating your imagination with the simple poetry of the process on show.

Davin Haukebo-Bol’s video portrait of Nick Wroblewski, an American woodblock printer, is about as captivating as they come; a sharply-cut 10 minutes of footage that lets you into Nick’s world, shows off his skills and captivates you with the lyrical way he discusses his artistic passions. Even if you don’t give a monkeys about printmaking, Nick’s got enough enthusiasm about it to turn you into a convert.

A person uses a fine-liner pen to draw a detailed sketch in a notebook. Their other hand rests on a reference photograph on the page opposite.
Above

Davin Haukebo-Bol: Sway (still)

A print of a forest scene in pale blue ink sits beside its corresponding wooden printing block. The block shows the carved outline of the trees and foliage.
Above

Davin Haukebo-Bol: Sway (still)

A person uses a rotary carving tool to etch a detailed landscape into a light-coloured wooden block. Their hand steadies the edge of the wood as the tool carves a precise line.
Above

Davin Haukebo-Bol: Sway (still)

A person's hand lifts a print from a stack of papers. The artwork is an abstract landscape in shades of red, blue and grey.
Above

Davin Haukebo-Bol: Sway (still)

A person holds a print featuring a landscape of stylised trees in shades of green and red. The artwork is bordered by a thick black frame on a white piece of paper.
Above

Davin Haukebo-Bol: Sway (still)

A person uses a fine-liner pen to draw a detailed illustration of a forest. The artwork features tall, slender birch trees and dense foliage in shades of green and yellow.
Above

Davin Haukebo-Bol: Sway (still)

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About the Author

James Cartwright

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James started out as an intern in 2011 and came back in summer of 2012 to work online and latterly as Print Editor, before leaving in May 2015.

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