by Bach Lien

 

Framed: Visitors to the show can admire the many different kinds of flowers made by Japanese artist Kanako Yaguchi during her stay in Viet Nam. — VNS Photo Truong Vi

HA NOI (VNS) — Kanako Yaguchi has brought the art of kirigami to the capital in an exhibition currently being held at the Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchanges in Viet Nam. Visitors can enjoy ordinary pieces of paper being transformed into radiant flowers or snowflakes.

Kirigami (paper cut-outs in English) is a traditional Japanese art and a variation of origami (folding papers).Typically, kirigami starts with a piece of paper with a folded base, which is then cut. The cuts are then opened and flattened to make the finished kirigami works, which are usually symmetrical objects such as pentagrams or orchid blossoms.

Visitors to the show can admire the many different kinds of flowers made by Yaguchi during her stay in Viet Nam. The public will also see the unveiling of a friendship tree, decorated with paper flowers made by Vietnamese students who participated in her kirigami workshops in Ha Noi.

Yaguchi hopes the exhibition will better allow audiences to understand the art.

"I hope Vietnamese people will love my works," she says, adding that she is among just a few Japanese artists who do the job. "The more I do this job, the more I find it suits my personality. And I discovered that not many others can do it, which makes me want to continue!"

Yaguchi graduated from the Design Faculty of the Joshibi University of Art and Design and has since published several books in English on kirigami, including The Art of Decorative Paper Stencils 1&2. She is a regular on Japanese TV as an instructor for people trying kirigami at home.

Kirigami is a common feature at Buddhist and Shinto festivals in Japan and is also widely used as decorative paper on New Year's Day. It is used to make paper lanterns, toys and folk handicrafts.

The feature of Yaguchi's work is its axial symmetry. She is highly acclaimed for adding contemporary values to traditional handicrafts. Her original, cutting-edge patterns are used for new designs of Japanese traditional cloths and for advertisements.

The Ha Noi exhibition, The World of Kirigami: A Hundred Flowers & Words is being held until October 21 at 27 Quang Trung Street, Ha Noi. — VNS