Palm-sized leaf and paper animals
- Yoshihiro makes real leaf folded animal artworks, and cuttings out of paper
- His Oriha works are named for the Japanese 'ori' and 'ha', which respectively mean fold and leaf
- His mother Motoko supports him with verbal communication
Yoshihiro Watanabe is an artist famed for his leaf folding and paper cutting. He has taken part in many exhibitions across Japan and Europe. He spends every day creating his works in his home, and each piece takes approximately an hour to complete. "The fact that people enjoy his creations is the motivation behind him continuing to create his works," explains his mother. Yoshihiro has difficulty with verbal communication and throughout his life his mother, Motoko, has supported him and encouraged his artistic endeavours. He begins his leaf work without a plan, a method he has applied since early childhood. "In his mind, this imagined picture of the animal is not a flat, photographic representation, but a fully realised, solid form," says Motoko. The scale of his leaf pieces is inherently determined by the size of the leaf itself, whilst his paper cuttings range in scale up to A4 paper size.
INTERVIEW
Yoshihiro's mother: Aged ten, my son began producing papercut works focusing on the outlines of animals, using any paper, even gum wrappers, to create works. In his first year of junior high school, he used to play beneath a large kunugi oak tree, and from this began his passion for folding leaves.
Yoshihiro's mother: He spent his childhood in the fields and hills seeking out and observing insect life. This interest expanded to include life in water and in the sky. He holds a great affection for all animals and all serve as potential subjects for his creations.
Yoshihiro's mother: The leaves used in his Oriha works must satisfy certain conditions with regard to size, moistness and foldability. Such leaves can only be obtained during November and December, making their availability strictly seasonal.
Yoshihiro's mother: Blunt scissors. In his paper cutting, Yoshihiro uses the standard safety scissors used in primary schools, characterised by their rounded tips. These scissors became habitual for him and he stayed with these, albeit in a larger format.
