ORU Kami

Ethereal: Extremely Delicate And Light In A Way That Seems Too Perfect For This World.

These paper sculptures display the subtle transitions from light to dark, giving an edge and shape to a previously flat surface. The paper sheet, scored with a single line, when observed by the camera, unveils a delicate complexity. The final photographs capture this transformation in form as they are rendered flat once again.

Project Origin:

This work is born out of my career as a visual artist and creative professional. My aesthetic has always been about refinement, where I aim to simplify the elements within a given frame or vantage point down to the essential parts. I see photography as being just as much about what we leave out as what we leave in. Paul Rand once wrote, “the final object should read as effortlessly composed.” To his statement, I add and brilliantly rendered complete by the viewing public.

“Oru” means to fold, and “Kami,” meaning paper, was imagined while watching a PBS special on television about the various practices of Origami. While I am not interested in this complex craft, I am fascinated by the simplest forms that arise from a single square sheet of paper when scored with a single line. While working within this self-imposed constraint, the possibilities prove limitless. By simply adding one score to the sheet of paper and then breaking that fold back upon itself, shapes emerge, leaving otherwise unimaginable interpretations of line, form, and shadow. The square sheet’s flat, the natural two-dimensional surface is transformed into an abstract sculpture displaying subtle transitions from light to dark, defining an edge and shape to the once flat surface. The final photographs capture this transformation in form as they are rendered flat once again.

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