Ura-omote (back and front), hyori-ittai (a unified front and back)*: meanings changes based on how we read.

* note: In Japanese, there are two systems of pronunciation: “kunyomi,” native to Japanese, and “onyomi,” inherited from Chinese. The kanji for “front” and “back” both appear in “ura-omote” and “hyori-ittai,” but differ in pronounciation because the first is read via kunyomi, and the latter, onyomi.

I experienced interesting things about the nature and properties of paper—the bearer of the picture—by using it on both sides.  For example, when I use thick paper, the image on the front and the image on the back don’t influence each other all that much, even while I’m creating them. Each image lies on top of its respective surface.

In contrast, when I use thin paper, even at the first stages of production, the images begin negotiating with each other. The lines on the front and the lines on the back, the red coloring on the front with the red on the back... If I work on both sides concurrently, the image on one side continuously influences, and provides a foundation for, the image on the back. This is such a different experience from thinking about the front and back in isolation. It is a shift to co-extensive existence; the front exists because of the back, and the back exists because of the front.

Burlap, the material I currently use, is a rough, woven fabric, used for coffee sacks. It almost looks like a mesh with tiny hairs growing out of it. (Japanese site)