The mokuhanga series Ahead by Kitamura, produced for Apichaya Wanthiang, brings together a quiet precision of technique with a contemplative, forward-looking sensibility. Mokuhanga—the traditional Japanese method of water-based woodblock printing—allows Kitamura to build soft layers of color and subtle gradations, giving the works a sense of movement that feels both controlled and fluid. In Ahead, forms often appear to hover or drift, suggesting transition, anticipation, or a state of becoming rather than arrival.

Kitamura’s practice is rooted in an attentiveness to process and material. As an artist, she is known for blending traditional printmaking techniques with a contemporary visual language that emphasizes atmosphere over narrative. Her works tend to resist direct interpretation, instead creating spaces where viewers can reflect on time, perception, and emotional undercurrents. In collaboration with Apichaya Wanthiang, Ahead extends this approach—functioning almost like a visual dialogue, where the prints carry a sense of exchange across distance and perspective.

The series ultimately reflects Kitamura’s sensitivity to both craft and concept. By using mokuhanga, she preserves a connection to tradition while gently pushing it into a more abstract, introspective realm, where each layer of ink becomes part of a larger meditation on direction, uncertainty, and the quiet act of moving forward.