Handmade Paper Cascades Throughout Mika Obayashi’s Meditative Installations

Art

#installation
#Mika Obayashi
#paper
#string

Handmade Paper Cascades Throughout Mika Obayashi’s Meditative Installations

July 12, 2024

Grace Ebert

“Gospel of Three Dimensions” (2022), abaca paper, cotton cord, indigo, 7 x 7 x 11 feet. Photo by Samara Pearlstein. All images © Mika Obayashi, shared with permission

“A central ingredient is empty space,” says Mika Obayashi about her gossamer installations of paper and cord. The artist constructs delicate, yet immersive works that hang from the ceiling in precise squares or triangles, their strings hovering just above the floor. Precise and organic, the installations question the relationship between material and space and “can be looked at, in, and through all at once.”

Her works evoke Lenore Tawney’s renowned Cloud series, atmospheric sculptures of innumerable knotted threads. Obayashi is similarly meditative, with projects like “Gospel of Three Dimensions” layering hand-made paper dyed with indigo into a striking gradient. A central cavern allows the viewer to step inside, enveloping them in an ethereal cascade of blue hues.

The artist is currently working toward an MFA in Fibers and Material Studies at Tyler School of Art and Architecture in Philadelphia, where she’s exploring the territory between the familiar and non- in everyday objects. You can follow her latest projects on Instagram.

“Gospel of Three Dimensions” (2022), abaca paper, cotton cord, indigo, 7 x 7 x 11 feet. Photo by Samara Pearlstein

Detail of “Gospel of Three Dimensions” (2022), abaca paper, cotton cord, indigo, 7 x 7 x 11 feet. Photo by Samara Pearlstein

“As the Crow Flies” (2020), washi paper, wool yarn, feathers, 4 x 4 x 9 feet

Detail of “As the Crow Flies” (2020), washi paper, wool yarn, feathers, 4 x 4 x 9 feet

“Sphere Rising” (2022), washi paper, wool yarn, sumi ink, wood, 3 x 4 x 7 feet

Detail of “Sphere Rising” (2022), washi paper, wool yarn, sumi ink, wood, 3 x 4 x 7 feet

#installation
#Mika Obayashi
#paper
#string

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