Poem 68 - 49

In this group of prints, Maki modified oracle bone script, the earliest known form of Chinese writing. In that script, which was engraved on animal bones used in divination practices (“oracle bones”), the characters resemble pictures; for example, the character for “child” in the center of Poem 68 – 49 consists of a circular head and sticklike arms and torso. While some of the characters in the prints are legible to anyone familiar with Japanese and Chinese writing, others—like the combination of a moon and asterisk—are Maki’s own creations. He distanced his work from written language by adding colored circles and teardrops to punctuate the space. To make these prints, he carved into cement applied to the surfaces of wooden printing blocks. The texture of the cement, especially visible in the embossed areas, evokes the rough surface of stone or bone, reinforcing the connection to oracle bones.