Matthew Wong Ka-siu delicately folds tiny squares of paper to transform them into intricate sculptures, from hedgehogs to parrots and jellyfish.
The Hong Kong artist first posted his origami art on an online forum when he was in Secondary Three. Now, he has more than 19,700 followers on Instagram.
The 27-year-old has about 100 original origami designs under his belt. While he has some that incorporate his city’s culture, such as dim sum, most of his designs are of animals.
“Once I have drafted ... my new animal designs by referring to the real-life structure of the same animal, I can efficiently develop different forms,” Wong shared.
“For example, my originally-designed Simple Goldfish can be [made into] ... Koi, Comet Goldfish and Butterfly Goldfish.”
The artist’s love for the craft began in primary school when he learned from books and online tutorials.
“Origami artists ... only use one sheet of paper to fold their work without any cuts. Their folding abilities and design techniques impress me,” said Wong, who works full-time as a technical officer.
The first master to inspire him was Japanese origami artist Satoshi Kamiya.
“Master Kamiya has a great sense of creating animals and mythical creatures by mainly using close ratios of real-sized features and 22.5-degree [lines],” Wong said, referring to a technique that creates folds at multiples of 22.5-degree angles.
For Wong, the craft is more than just a children’s pastime: “The art of origami is abstract but contains various levels of mathematical elements that can produce unlimited shapes.”
“It all depends on how the origami artists think and what they want to make by referring to their initial design concepts or styles of modification.”
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Folding fervour
Wong’s unique designs have given him a chance to share his passion with the world.
In 2021, he displayed his origami at the International Origami Exhibition held in the US city of Chicago.
Last month, the Hong Kong artist joined the 28th Origami Tanteidan Convention in Tokyo, an annual gathering of origami enthusiasts from all over the world. It is organised by the Japan Origami Academic Society.
This year was the first time Wong took part in the event since 2018, and he appreciated meeting other artists there.
“[In person] I can easily learn more about origami techniques and explore more about designing ideas ... for my origami,” he said, adding that he was excited to meet origami masters he had seen on social media.
Six of Wong’s creations were displayed at the two-day convention, including miniature sculptures of mythical creatures, real animals, the Hong Kong flag, and a business card holder.
“I mainly want to show my folding skills using 15cm x 15cm foil origami papers ... to show their actual sizes, which are near the size of a coin,” Wong pointed out.
Each fold requires meticulous attention to detail, and completing an origami sculpture can take anywhere from a few minutes to one month.
Drafting an original design can take even longer.
“It may take ... at least a month, for designing relatively complex designs,” he shared.
“Doing origami requires patience and concentration,” Wong emphasised.
But this test of patience eventually pays off.
“Once we finish the model ... we feel a sense of accomplishment that we are proud of our efforts, and this is an excellent motivation for us to learn more, fold more, and even design more,” the artist said.
Sharing joy with others
For Wong, the joy of origami comes not just from folding and designing intricate creations, but also from inspiring creativity in others.
In recent years, Wong noticed that many people around him had experience with crafting origami as children before leaving it behind during their secondary school years.
He realised that he had an opportunity to reignite this interest in origami art among Hongkongers.
Last July, he established a monthly Private Origami meeting for anyone wanting to create origami together.
“It’s a great chance to learn and explore origami techniques with each other to boost our folding [skills] and enrich our knowledge of origami,” Wong shared.
“I want to promote origami from Hong Kong and let more local people know about this art.”
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Seeing how STEAM education has incorporated origami in recent years, Wong believes that this art form has a lot to offer to students.
“Parents [should] ... value this interest as helping their children achieve outstanding academic results,” the artist noted.
He explained: “[Origami] enhances our patience and concentration during the folding process. It also helps us to improve our mathematical abilities and enrich our sense of art.”
Additional reporting by Sue Ng
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