Paper-craft is a unique discipline of sculpture involving the manipulation of paper into forms. From Japanese origami to cut paper (or Jianzhi, as it is called in original Chinese), making sturdy, beautiful pieces from such a delicate medium continues to be one of the most fantastical art-forms to date. In the modern age, with complex colours, and paper types, this medium has been given new life.
Enter Zim & Zou.
These breathtaking artists use vibrant colours and papercraft to bring fantastical ideas and stories to fruition. Zim & Zou mostly use their craft for the sake of advertising. The particular piece that I'll be focusing on, is their installation at Hermes Fashion store in Dubai.
The artists were instructed to design two villages out of paper for Hermes fashion. One was to be made to represent fungi, and the other to represent blooming lotuses. The fungal village takes inspiration from Bark Mushrooms, which generally grow on the sides of trees. The trunk of a tree being the main focus, the Bark Mushroom inspiration is used in a pragmatic way, to provide the inhabitants of the village with a means to ascends, and as a platform for other structures. To further encapsulate the essence of this mushroom village, the shapes of the buildings are natural, curved, and topped like fungi. The emulation of nature is also present in the lotus village, where petals have been used as a thatched roofing. To represent the lotus flower, which grows floating in water, as opposed to stems, the artists use blue as a lighting motif, and have constructed the platforms for buildings in a manner reminiscent to the way islands look underwater in nature.
To add a 'lived-in' feel to the villages, there is an immense amount of detail, one of such, are the leaf villagers. (who are very reminiscent of Nintendo's Pikmin).
These little guys are common between the two pieces, and are not the only similar parts. To make sure these pieces were unified as one advertisement, many compositional details are alike. The ladders leading to the villages are always on the left side of the main focal point. The hierarchy of the mushroom stems, and lotus platform heights is similar, with the background pieces being the tallest, the midground right (stage left) being at medium size, and the foreground left (stage right) being the shortest. Phenomenal.
The world-building and storytelling between these pieces are inspirational to me, because my goal in art is to tell stories. So, to see art that is used for advertising, in such a unique medium (which I love exploring) is right up my alley, and tells me that storytelling can be more versatile than the entertainment industry.
Two of my favorite aesthetics are detailed populated areas, and overgrown buildings. These pieces subvert my love of overgrown buildings by creating a detailed civilization that has overtaken, and harnessed nature, instead of nature overtaking civilization. It is also a well detailed village, which falls under my first favorite aesthetic. Zim & Zou are also incredibly talented, and produce sexy cut lines that I couldn't even dream of achieving, so no wonder its so attractive to me.
That's all for now! Till next time.
-Kitt
Colossus Article on this installation: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2017/01/colorful-paper-village-installations-for-hermes-by-zim-zou/
Enter Zim & Zou.
These breathtaking artists use vibrant colours and papercraft to bring fantastical ideas and stories to fruition. Zim & Zou mostly use their craft for the sake of advertising. The particular piece that I'll be focusing on, is their installation at Hermes Fashion store in Dubai.
The artists were instructed to design two villages out of paper for Hermes fashion. One was to be made to represent fungi, and the other to represent blooming lotuses. The fungal village takes inspiration from Bark Mushrooms, which generally grow on the sides of trees. The trunk of a tree being the main focus, the Bark Mushroom inspiration is used in a pragmatic way, to provide the inhabitants of the village with a means to ascends, and as a platform for other structures. To further encapsulate the essence of this mushroom village, the shapes of the buildings are natural, curved, and topped like fungi. The emulation of nature is also present in the lotus village, where petals have been used as a thatched roofing. To represent the lotus flower, which grows floating in water, as opposed to stems, the artists use blue as a lighting motif, and have constructed the platforms for buildings in a manner reminiscent to the way islands look underwater in nature.
To add a 'lived-in' feel to the villages, there is an immense amount of detail, one of such, are the leaf villagers. (who are very reminiscent of Nintendo's Pikmin).
These little guys are common between the two pieces, and are not the only similar parts. To make sure these pieces were unified as one advertisement, many compositional details are alike. The ladders leading to the villages are always on the left side of the main focal point. The hierarchy of the mushroom stems, and lotus platform heights is similar, with the background pieces being the tallest, the midground right (stage left) being at medium size, and the foreground left (stage right) being the shortest. Phenomenal.
The world-building and storytelling between these pieces are inspirational to me, because my goal in art is to tell stories. So, to see art that is used for advertising, in such a unique medium (which I love exploring) is right up my alley, and tells me that storytelling can be more versatile than the entertainment industry.
Two of my favorite aesthetics are detailed populated areas, and overgrown buildings. These pieces subvert my love of overgrown buildings by creating a detailed civilization that has overtaken, and harnessed nature, instead of nature overtaking civilization. It is also a well detailed village, which falls under my first favorite aesthetic. Zim & Zou are also incredibly talented, and produce sexy cut lines that I couldn't even dream of achieving, so no wonder its so attractive to me.
That's all for now! Till next time.
-Kitt
Colossus Article on this installation: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2017/01/colorful-paper-village-installations-for-hermes-by-zim-zou/
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