Scene uit het Noh theaterstuk Tsuchigumo. Possibly 1902

Tsukioka Kôgyo made this print of a scene from the Noh theatre play Tsuchigumo, using woodblock printing, sometime between 1869 and 1927. It’s all about lines here, and the power they have to describe shape and movement. The ghostly spider webs, rendered with such delicate strokes, crisscross the scene, creating a tangible tension in the air. The whole image seems suspended between worlds, doesn't it? The masked figure looms on what looks like a swing. The webs themselves have an ethereal quality that feels almost like static electricity, or a ghostly outline of some presence. I’m drawn to the negative space around the figures, it gives the image a feeling of breathlessness. Maybe it’s a way of saying that art is about seeing what isn't there, as much as what is, a kind of visual poetry that reminds me a bit of Hokusai’s landscapes. It's about embracing the unknown, leaving room for our imaginations to fill in the gaps.