The craftsmanship has introduced many sculptures: some are made of Lego, made of toast, made of resin, and of course made of paper. Although the above works are all amazing, are there some that are rare? What about super-thick sculpting techniques? Japanese artists will tell you that newspapers are not just newspapers, they can also be rolled up and smoked to make animal fur.
“For me, the realistic presentation of animals is the most important thing in creation.” Paper artist Chie Hitotsuyama wets strips of newspapers, rolls them, rubs them, and then glues them one by one. When it comes to "animals", it is precisely because of such delicate and labor-intensive techniques that whether it is the fluffy hair of the Japanese macaque or the hard scales of the maned lizard, it can be "conceived" as lifelike as if time has temporarily stopped.
Hitotsuyama also shared her creative philosophy with Kokusai Pulp & Paper: "Animals in nature are part of the global village just like us. They sleep when they are sleepy and eat when they are hungry. They live a life that is almost indistinguishable from humans. Ordinary life. As a creator, I want to maintain this reality, so I try to complete life-size sculptures as much as possible to achieve the goal of expressing their lives."
Currently, several of Hitotsuyama’s animal sculptures are on display at MOAH:CEDAR in California, USA. Until January 7, 2017, you have the opportunity to go there and experience the intricacies of newspaper weaving firsthand.
