2025 Artist in Residence
Megumi Harada
Megumi Harada(he/they) is a non-binary artist of mixed Asian and Native Hawaiian descent who resides in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi . The artist is driven by a deep fixation on physical and digital ephemera and how it may serve as an informal portrait of the current day society. It is not uncommon to observe the artist spending large stretches of time digitizing and saving that which others may consider to be rather mundane. The artist has a proclivity towards creating meticulously layered artwork that’s heavily informed by the images they document and what they wish they could have preserved from their childhood. In addition to this the artist also enjoys utilizing relatively outdated forms of technology or using technology in ways that they weren’t initially intended for as a part of their art practice. The artist views machines such as the risograph duplicator or Nintendo 3ds as fellow collaborators, welcoming the unconventional nature in which they interpret images as an artistic choice made by device’s own aesthetic tastes or personality.
Megumi Harada joined Pencil Urchin Press as their very first artist in residence in May of 2025. Harada spent a 3-day intensive with P.U.P co-founders Devyn Park & Sarah Week working on a variety of print editions and two zine editions. Their work was heavily inspired by the natural landscape of Kailua Kona, Hawai’i- featuring photography taken on site during the residency in combination with a lexicon of original illustrations, symbols, characters, and found typography sourced from their personal library.
The two zine editions created include Rainbow Paintbrush a collaborative piece by Harada & Week, and RISOSF9450EIIU by Harada & Park.
To support and view more of Megumi’s work visit their sites below:
Instagram : @unfiltered.ooze
Website & Store: www.gummygunk.com
Tumblr: gummygunk.tumblr.com
imperfect halo
8.5 x 10” Risograph print
someone special
8.5 x 10” Risograph print
forgive yourself
8.5 x 10” Risograph print
flowers bloom even from trampled grass
8.5 x 10” Risograph print
Rainbow Paintbrush
Rainbow Paintbrush is a collaborative zine between Megumi Harada and Sarah Week. This zine uses found imagery, original artwork and photography to highlight the beauty of color- both in the natural world, and in the manmade ephemera that surrounds us.
Printed between an SF9450 & RZ390 duplicator with Fluo. Pink, Fluo. Orange, Yellow, Sunflower Yellow, Kelly Green, Mint, Chicago Blue, and Teal inks. Available for purchase here.
RISOSF9450EIIU
RISOSF9450EII is a collaborative zine between Megumi Harada and Devyn Park. This zine features analog photography taken by Harada & Park, captured on a Nintendo 3DS. The visual dialog between the textural and variable nature of both the Nintendo 3DS and Risograph create a hazy, dream-like-scape that welcomes readers to treasure analog and vintage methods of image making.
This staple bound zine was printed on an SF9450 duplicator in Fluo. Pink, Yellow, Cornflower Blue, and Black ink. Available for purchase here.
Below are some of the unedited Nintendo 3DS photographs taken by Harada and Park before the curating & riso printing process. The “wiggle gram” effect is added to some images to demonstrate the 3DS’ ability to create stereographic images.
The low-resolution charm of these images, as well as the artists’ mutual love for the Nintendo DS line of systems sparked inspiration to see how the dialog between these photos and riso could create a product that is more impactful than the sum of its parts.
