Within a similar vein as one of the conference projects crafted by a student in class, one of our projects consisted of folding print-outs of our faces. The folds made were some we were taught in class including pleating, Miura Ori, and other variations.
While short, the process revolved around utilizing separate aspects of the face that could carry different creases and folds in different ways such that the face takes on a different form and shape at every point of view. I created three faces, two pleats folded from different corners of the paper, and one regular Miura ori. The horizontal pleat follows through a whole horizontal pleat as well as two parallel vertical pleats towards the center of the face. When installing the piece on the wall I made sure to pin the face on the wall so that the eyes peek through the crease. The second pleated piece is diagonal so the face exposes the right eye and the right side of my mouth. The way in which the piece was pinned was so the paper would curl out of the wall in a shell like manner. The third fold is a miura ori fold which ended up warping the face—enforcing the illusion of a blown up eye and a pinched nose shortening the face. Along the wall, each individual was scattered diversifying the energies each face had to express.
Overall, I found the process as much as the outcome highly enjoyable and artistic; especially once every student’s piece could be viewed through a collective. With each glance, the expression forces the viewer to encounter the work in various ways, an effect taking action through the mutual gaze of the both art and the audience.
