Tons of major art forms use paper as a primary component, but Japanese paper artist Nahoko Kojima takes paper art to the extreme with her murals. Kojima is most famous as a professional paper cut artist for her 3D Cloud Leopard piece featured at Saatchi Collect this passing May.
Courtesy of Nahoko Kojima
These intricate murals are hand cut by Kojima with only a scalpel to create elaborate sculptures of animals, nature, textures and other interesting entities. Kojima has mentioned that to keep precision, she has to change blades on her scalpel every three minutes. These sculptures are forged from a single sheet of paper into both 2D and 3D pieces.
Courtesy of Nahoko Kojima
Courtesy of Nahoko Kojima
Kojima is currently living in London as she works on her newest and most ambitious piece: Byaku, a life-sized cutout of a swimming polar bear from a single sheet of white Washi paper. Projects like Byaku can take almost a half a year to fully complete, but Byaku will be unveiled at the Jerwood Space in London next month. You van view all of Kojima’s magnificent works on Colossal, Complex.com, Hifructose, and Beautiful Decay. Be sure to check next month to see the unveiling of Byaku.
Project info :
Designer : Nahoko Kojima
Year : 2018
Location : Bacc, bangkok
Anastasia Andreieva is an accomplished Architectural Projects Editor at Arch2O, bringing a unique blend of linguistic expertise and design enthusiasm to the team. Born and raised in Ukraine, she holds a Master’s degree in Languages from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Her deep passion for architecture and visual storytelling led her to transition from translation and editorial roles into the world of design media. With a keen eye for conceptual clarity and narrative structure, Anastasia curates and presents global architectural projects with precision and flair. She is particularly drawn to parametric and digital design, cultural context, and emerging voices in architecture. When I’m not analyzing the latest architectural trends, you’ll probably find me searching for hidden gems in cityscapes or appreciating the beauty of well-crafted spaces. After all, great design—like great connections—can be found in the most unexpected places. Speaking of connections, because architecture isn’t the only thing that brings people together.