Video // ‘Folded Light, Folded Shadow’ by Yuko Nishimura.

Uprise ’14 2014, Japanese Paper (Kyokushi). Photo by Otomo Yosuke.

Stir ’14 2014, Japanese Paper (Kyokushi). Photo by Otomo Yosuke.

Organic ’14 2014, Japanese Paper (Kyokushi). Photo by Otomo Yosuke.

Click here to watch the embedded video.

The ancient tradition of paper-folding provides the foundation for the work of Yuko Nishimura, a Japanese artist who specialises in abstract, large-scale paper sculptures with accordion-like folds. By adding varying curves to each fold, Nishimura creates shifting visual effects that play with reflected light and the viewer’s perspective. According to Nishimura, her work was inspired by “the creases that form the ‘mountain folds’ and the ‘valley folds’ which represent the separation between light and shadow in our universe.” Nishimura’s craft is a simple but brilliant process that was recently documented in this video from Keiko Art International.

“Japanese people unconsciously experience the action of folding on a daily basis, and therefore encounter various folded forms. Only by folding one piece of paper an expressive masterpiece can be created. This is the Japanese way of folding. In order to link the past with future generations regarding the form of folding, I do not limit myself to the category of origami but consider the pursuit of any possibility of folding paper. To express the Japanese soul through form will continue to be passed down from generation to generation as a tangency between culture and art.” – From concept description by Yuko Nishimura.

[Images & video courtesy of Yuko Nishimura. Photography by Otomo Yosuke.]