Artist of the Week: 3D Paper Art by Lydia Kasumi Shirreff
Paper art, or paper sculpture as it is also known, is probably the cheapest and most accessible form of sculpture invented. That is not not say, of course, that the results reflect this cheapness. Paper art deserves to be called art, not only because it is a way for the artist to express him or herself, but because the results are often absolutely stunning.
Paper folding has been around, funnily enough, since before paper. Although not what you might consider a work of art, the oldest known example of folded paper is an ancient Egyptian map drawn on papyrus, that was folded much the same way as modern road maps are folded today. It would take several centuries before wood pulp based papers would be invented in China, and then paper art would really kick off.
The first documented example of paper folding as an art comes from the 1490 edition of Tractatus de sphaera mundi by Johannes de Sacrobosco. This edition of the influential pre-Copernican astronomy book featured a drawing of a small paper boat.
The art of paper folding is, of course, much older than that. In the 6th century, Buddhist monks brought paper to Japan, and thus origami was born. China, it is presumed, already had its own for of paper art, the main difference between Chinese and Japanese paper folding being the objects represented by the paper sculptures. Whereas the Chinese would make representations of inanimate objects, like boats and pagodas, Japanese paper artists focused on living creatures.
The first ever unambiguous mention of origami comes from a short poem by Ihara Saikaku, in the year 1680, in which he describes paper butterflies in a dream. Seeing as origami butterflies were used in Shinto weddings, this meant that origami was already an important part of Japanese culture during the Heian period, sometime between the 8th and 12th century.
Now that we have told you a few things about the history of paper folding, it is time to move on to this article’s featured artist: Lydia Kasumi Shirreff.
Lydia is a paper engineer, set designer and illustrator, living in London, England. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in fine art, and the art she produces is, indeed, fine. As stated in this interview for The Smuggler, she is an old school paper artist, only using her hands to create the marvelous works we will be showing you, shortly.
She starts her works by drawing out a very minimalistic plan, which she changes as she goes along. “I change things quite a lot as I go along so it’s a very fluid, experimental process.” says the artist, adding “It can sometimes be incredibly monotonous and tedious but the results are always worth it.”
Lydia has been a creative sort ever since she was a kid. She says “I think for me it would be hard to find an early memory that wasn’t drawing or creating.”, after which she goes on to say how she used to make tiny, little books about blonde princesses and unicorns, making her want to be a story writer, for a while.
She eventually chose paper art as her artistic outlet, and what a great choice it was. Aside from her own artistic projects, she also does commercial work. To name just a few of her clients, we have De Beers, Bodyshop and Vogue, and you don’t have to be in the advertising industry to know that those are some really high-profile clients.
Now it’s time to show off her work. We will be showing you a few of her absolutely brilliant paper sculptures, and talk about them as we go along.
One of her most recent works, this abstract wall panel, made from cardboard is part of a two piece set. It has the feel of an old school, low-budget sci-fi show prop about it. In fact, it kind of makes us think of 50’s era Doctor Who. Or, the more we look at it, the more we start thinking of Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. All on all, what we’re really trying to say is that we want that on our wall.
Yet another wall piece Lydia did, this time not so much sci-fi, as it is straightforward psychedelic… as straightforward as psychedelic can be. The metallic colors are really, really cool, and this could definitely be a conversation piece to hang on your living-room wall.
Part of a collection of handmade paper trainers commissioned by Oh Comely magazine, this trainer (as well as the others in the collection) showcase just how good Lydia is at recreating objects. If you wouldn’t have known from the start that it was made out of paper, we’re willing to wager that it would have taken some time for you to catch on.
As the artist herself describes this on her website, it is a “Still life project, inspired by rocks and minerals.” and it looks totally gorgeous. The flatly colored ones aren’t anything to write home about, but the pink and black amethyst really just takes the cake for us.
At first glance this seems like a pretty average arts & crafts project, but once you start thinking that the bread slices are actually thicker than the tomato slices, which are in turn thicker than the salad leaves, that’s when you know that this is so much more than kindergarten arts & crafts.
We’ve mentioned before a few of Lydia’s clients, and one of the client’s we’ve mentioned were De Beers. This is one of several works she’s done for the diamond cartel, and it showcases her ability to remain whimsical while also being very, very classy, and also how you can make paper art without employing bright colors.
This is a three dimensional paper and cardboard illustration the artist has done for the Eat Everything exhibition, back in 2012. It is an excellent blending of shape and color, neither out-shining the other.
Simply described as being a “3D painted object”, this work a superb example of what wonderful things can be created when playing around with geometry. From the shape of the object itself, to the patterns paint on it, this is a lovely work of abstract art.
You can tell that a lot of work went into creating this prop. This behemoth is promotional artwork for RUDE*, and it symbolizes the asterisk in the name. We’d be lying if we said it didn’t take us a while to figure that one out.
More abstract work from Lydia, now. This time she used mirrored cardboard to create this weird looking geometric piece, that seems to be emulating the style of Brâncuși, only with cardboard instead of wood, stone or clay. It’s one of her older works, being dated 2009.
When samurais exchanged gifts, they would adorn these gifts with noshi. Noshi (or noshis) are little pieces of folded paper, used as good luck charms. These little paper sculptures Lydia has made are kind of like the modern day equivalent of that. They look really cute, and they are perfect for adding a little something to the gift package.
The artist seems to love making wall pieces, seeing as she does quite a few of them, and they all look terrific. This third wall piece on our list is a happy, flat colored one, and it looks fantastic. Once again, you can see how good Lydia is at playing with geometry, and what a great eye for color she has.
That concludes our article on Lydia Kasumi Shirreff and her marvelous 3D paper art. We hope you enjoyed her works, as well as our article, and that it helped you get a bit of design inspiration for your own projects.
Don’t forget to visit Lydia’s website and give us your thoughts on the article, as well as any other works from Lydia you might like, in the comment section below.
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