• Venus and Nayan make tiny realistic paper sculptures inspired by wildlife
• Each piece is sketched, cut, painted, moulded and assembled by hand
• They sometimes work with natural materials such feathers and branches

Nayan Shrimali and Venus Bird met while working at the National Institute of Design as miniature model makers in 2014. Two years later, they joined hands to form their own paper sculpture studio, The Paper Ark. In 2018, they set themselves a challenge to make one miniature bird a day for 30 days. The project gained online attention, becoming a 1,000-day series that expanded to animals and insects. Venus, trained in animation and visual effects, researches each species and paints them in watercolour. Nayan, a furniture and interior design graduate, cuts and assembles the sculptures. "We hope our work fosters a deeper connection to nature and conservation," they explain. A percentage of their sales supports wildlife conservation in India and abroad. “It is our way of giving back to nature,” says Nayan.