Uroš Mihić

Origamist

©Diego Diaz

The origami wizard

Uroš makes sculptures with paper and cardboard
He learned origami by himself when he was a boy
His works range from small objects to huge installations

Uroš Mihić has been a creative soul since he was a child. His father was an architect, his grandfather a set designer: “I grew up surrounded by projects, sketches and drawings, whose secrets and techniques I learned from a very young age.” So when it was time to choose his course of study, it just felt natural to pick art and design, first in his native Serbia, then in Milan, where he moved to attend interior design at Politecnico University. He never went back. Nowadays he’s a successful designer and a star of origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, which he uses to create small decorative objects, geometrical compositions and sculptures, even huge and scenographic installations for international brands like Armani and Pomellato.

Interview

©Diego Diaz

How did you discover this beautiful craft?: When I was ten, a man from my village showed me how to make a simple object from a sheet of paper. I was so mesmerised, that I began to learn on my own, copying from books. At the time my other passion was crochet, which is similar to origami as the result depends on you following a well-defined set of rules.
How do your projects come to life?: Anything could be a source of inspiration: nature, mathematics, geometry, music. Once I get a new idea, I draw a sketch by hand, then a 3-D model, then I begin to work with paper, making attempts, folding and unfolding it hundreds of times until it’s perfect.
Do you have any assistants or apprentices?: Not normally. But when I need help for very big projects I can count on a couple of very talented young artists – and on my best friend Jovana, who comes all the way from Serbia. Otherwise I work alone, usually by night, listening to any kind of music: from jazz to blues, rock and DJ sets.
What do you admire most about the Japanese?: Their tendency towards perfectionism: no matter what they do, they are always eager to improve themselves and their technique. That’s what I love about my job: from any project I can discover something new about my craft, but also about myself as a human being.

Uroš Mihić is a master artisan: he began his career in 2013 and he started teaching in 2016