Ma (間) Triptych

The kanji for ma (間) is itself a triptych: a gate in two parts, and between them, sunlight. It is one of those rare characters where the written form enacts its own meaning — the light does not fill the gate, it inhabits the interval. This panel works the same way.

At 40 inches wide by 30 inches high, the composition is divided into three sections. The flanking panels carry a whimsical, asymmetric lattice of rectangular forms in Port Orford cedar and redwood; the center opens into a field of graduated rectangles, the largest of them anchoring the eye before releasing it into the Warlon-backed expanse. That open center is not empty — it is the point. Ma is the Japanese concept of negative space, the understanding that what is absent shapes meaning as surely as what is present.

Not a drop of glue holds this panel together. Every element is secured by the precision of the joinery itself, friction bearing the full load of the construction. It is a discipline that demands absolute accuracy — and makes the finished piece remarkably honest about how it is made.

The Warlon backing makes the panel suitable for window installation, though it is equally at home on any wall where the quality of light and the pace of looking matter.