Kour Pour’s Tsugigami Tiger series was made using the Japanese craft technique of Tsugigami, which is similar to collage. Pour printed two images atop each other—one made with white ink on black paper, the other made with black ink on white paper. Additional torn and cut elements were then carefully glued atop the first two sheets. The multiple layers create the perception that the tigers are emerging from a fog. This work belongs to a series conceptualized around the idea of family—not only that into which we are born but the families we construct as our personal histories unfold. Similar to his renowned Carpet paintings, which integrate visual elements from pre-Victorian Persian carpets, these paintings contain elements that reference both global art history and various interconnected cultural iconographies. The central motif in this new body of work is a tiger, an image immediately suggestive of a range of art historic and craft traditions, but which is also a personal reference for Pour. “These tiger paintings originate from one of my best friends Phil, who is Korean and grew up in Chile,” Pour says. “He became a tattoo artist. He has a big Korean tiger tattoo on his belly.”