Award in honour of Pam and Neil Thorne - AUD$1000
Kato, Kaori, (JPN)
Essence of Spring
ABOUT THE work
In Japan, spring is a time of celebration, and ‘Sakura’ or cherry blossoms are the symbolic flower of the season. Sakura are the inspiration for Kaori’s 2024 work.
“Since the Paper on Skin contest’s gala and exhibition date have shifted to September, I was instantly spontaneous to incorporate Sakura-inspired elements into my proposed wearable work.
I create geometric patterns and organic forms by hand-folding paper, and assembling it into three-dimensional structures, a form of expression known as ‘site-specific installation,’ which is tailored to the space and context of each location.”
MATERIALS
Paper and craft glue, elastic, metal clips, Velcro.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
2024 was the second time Kaori had been a Paper on Skin™ finalist. In 2022, as a first-time entrant, Kaori won the Major Award of $5000.
“The inspiration for my work originally stems from my childhood experiences. I always liked origami (paper folding), and the art of folding has become the foundation of my preferred method of developing my artistic ideas. When I fold sheets of paper to make sculptures, I have to touch the paper hundreds of thousands of times. I find this activity to be most absorbing.”
Kaori has a connection to Australia, having completed her bachelor’s degree in fine arts (honours) in 2009 and her master’s degree in visual art in 2010 from the Faculty of the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) at the University of Melbourne.
She returned to Japan in 2013.
Kaori’s recent art experiments explore the moment when regularity and irregularity merge through a series of fine folding pieces while responding to the interior of any given space.
In recent years Kaori’s exhibitions have showcased this approach. She has had solo exhibitions in the following venues:
Messums Wiltshire, Wiltshire UK (2023); Nissho Kanda memorial museum of Art, Shikaoi, Japan (2022) and ROH Gallery KOHBUNDO, Obihiro, Japan (2021).