Yiye Wang

Le rêve

Paper sculptor

©Yiye Wang

Paper, patience and passion

Yiye is a paper roll artist
Her works are made with thousands of paper strips
She is passionate and absorbed by her work

Educated in art in her native China, Yiye Wang came to Paris for her master’s degree in digital communications and began to work in web design. Quite unexpectedly, she found her real passion in paper rolling. She worked on this new craft in every free moment she had, until she was able to devote herself to it full time in 2017. Working from her home with paper, a pair of scissors and glue, Yiye cuts strips of paper, rolls them and arranges them into illustrative artworks. She spends two months on each of her works using thousands of paper rolls. Although many consider paper a soft material, Yiye insists that it can be as strong as the trees it is made from. Her work has attracted luxury houses like Prada and Dior, to decorate their jewellery and handbag window displays.

Where

Interview

©Yiye Wang

©Yiye Wang

How did you first encounter the art of paper rolling?: One day on the bus and I saw a poster with an artwork of rolled paper on it. It was an abstract work and I had never seen anything like it. A year later I saw the same artwork online and felt drawn to it so I began to roll paper strips to try it for myself.
Do you feel you master your skill?: In other areas of my life, including in my previous career, I doubted myself. But when I touch paper, I have total confidence in myself. I am self-taught, and strangely, I immediately felt that I understood the technique and instinctively knew how to do it.
What do you love about your work?: I love to do portraits, because I love to do eyes. People often tell me that they like my work, especially the eyes. I think you can often see human emotion in them. I love creating new things, finding new techniques and never repeating myself.
What advice would you give to a young artist?: Anyone can roll paper, it is very simple, both children and adults can do it. But to make tangible what you have imagined, you must have a good fundamental understanding of art, colour theory and balance. And finally, hard work.

Yiye Wang is a rising star: she began her career in 2016 and she started teaching in 2020