Amur Leopard II

The series “Origami Extinction” aims to raise awareness on the disappearance and endangerment of animal species by closing the gap between subject and viewer. The works depict through shapes, shadows and textures, a number of origami equivalent to the remainder of existing individuals of a selected species. This enables the spectator to apprehend in a visual, instantaneous manner the danger of their imminent extinction due to their small number. Instead of shock value, poetry and beauty have been considered a more efficient tool for reaching a lasting effect on onlookers and create interest. The artistic objective is to confer an intellectual reality to these beings, so as to raise empathy, understanding and stir viewers into action. Whilst the hues are representative of the animals' true shades and environment, the blank spaces draw their influence from Japanese traditional "nihonga" art, in which artists used to leave a part of the canvas empty for the onlooker to be able to project his thoughts and contemplate his soul. Only one kind of origami has been used, the crane, to give the series an aesthetic homogeneity. All photographs are numbered and limited to editions of six.