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Spectacular 3D Kaleidoscope Installation Comprises 320 Origami Shapes

Comprising over 320 different origami shapes, Japanese spatial designer Masakazu Shirane and artist Reuben Young have created a spectacular installation called Light Origami. The giant three-dimensional kaleidoscope is now part of Vivid Sydney, an 18 day festival of light, music, and ideas.

Visitors can enter the geometric structure and be mesmerized by the different spectrums of light projected into the space. New and unique forms are also produced the longer they interact with the piece. “On this scale,” explain the organizers, “viewers become participants and co-creators.” Their movements are reflected in the glass panels, and the color of their clothing is worked into the overall visual presentation.

In an interview with The Creators Project, Shirane states, “I wanted to focus on the Japanese [architecture], and especially on the characteristic of movability. With movability, people are able to make a space bigger or smaller as they want. That's also why we've used the concept of origami. Origami can be a strong structure, and it can be folded. Light Origami is moveable architecture.”

Shirane and Young's piece is up June 8. So, if you're local to Sydney, Australia, be sure to see it before it's gone.

Above image credit: Destination New South Wales

Image credit: Destination New South Wales

Image credit: Seto Moto

Image credit: Seto Moto

Image credit: Destination New South Wales

Masakazu Shirane website
via [Spoon and Tamgo and The Creators Project]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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