Paper Objects

Akira’s faceted paper sculptures interpret pop cultural icons – such as fries or Air Jordans – familiar from his childhood in the 1980s from Kamakura, Japan to Houston, Texas. A product of these two cultures,  he learned early on the power of art to communicate as he refined his drawing skills to share ideas with new friends in the U.S., where this visual language superseded words.

Paper has a long history in Japan from washi to origami, and as a medium often serves as a substrate. Akira’s practice gives prominence to this humble material, exploiting its plasticity and pliability in service of forms of soft geometry. Using his industrial design training, he fashions paper into intricate sculptures equally at home in the worlds of both art and design.

The throughline in all of his work is human interaction as seen through  the lens of his dual cultures. Drawing upon his interests and experiences, Akira’s aim is to evoke a shared feeling, prompt a conversation, or elicit the viewer’s connection to these familiar objects. The seeming incongruity of discovering one’s genuine personal connection to a mass-produced item symbolic of global capitalist consumption prompts further reflection upon nostalgia, culture, and what shapes our individual and collective desires.