Thinking out of the box: Japanese artist turns cardboard boxes into lifelike sculptures

Record ID: 1634808

  • Title: Thinking out of the box: Japanese artist turns cardboard boxes into lifelike sculptures
  • Date: 31st August 2021
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (RECENT - AUGUST 25, 2021) (REUTERS) SCULPTURE OF ROBOT FROM HAYAO MIYAZAKI'S ANIMATION FILM "LAPUTA: CASTLE IN THE SKY" DISPLAYED AT THE SIDE / 29-YEAR-OLD ARTIST, MONAMI OHNO, WORKING ON SCULPTURE AT HER DESK OHNO'S HANDS APPLYING CARDBOARD SCALES TO LEGS OF GODZILLA SCULPTURE VARIOUS OF OHNO'S HANDS SCULPTING SCALE OF GODZILLA SCULPTURE VARIOUS OF OHNO WORKING ON GODZILLA SCULPTURE GODZILLA SCULPTURE POSTER OF JAPANESE 1954 FILM "GODZILLA" TAPED TO WALL (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 29-YEAR-OLD ARTIST, MONAMI OHNO, SAYING: "Ten years ago, when I was attending college, I dismantled a cardboard box for a piece of homework. The first thing I made at that time was a bike-like thing, and I wasn't able to do it as successfully as I can now, but when I first tried folding the paper, gluing them and putting them together, the people around me praised me, saying things like 'wow, you can make this,' and that made me so happy that I have continued doing this (style of sculpture) until now." CARDBOARD SCULPTURES ON DISPLAY IN OHNO'S ROOM CARDBOARD SCULPTURE OF MODEL KIT BOX OF TV SERIES "THUNDERBIRDS" ON SHELF CARDBOARD SCULPTURES ON DISPLAY IN OHNO'S ROOM CARDBOARD SCULPTURES ON DISPLAY / OHNO AT WORK AT HER DESK CARDBOARD SCULPTURE OF ROBOT FROM ANIMATION SERIES "NEON GENESIS EVANGELION" ON FLOOR / OHNO'S FEET (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 29-YEAR-OLD ARTIST, MONAMI OHNO, SAYING: "No, I don't really draw any blueprints (when making sculptures), and somehow I make them without drawing a blueprint. When I create something big (in size), I would draw a rough picture to measure the size, but I don't draw something as precise as a blueprint. (Instead) I draw directly onto the cardboard and cut them out." VARIOUS OF OHNO SCULPTING CARDBOARD SCALES FROM CARDBOARD PIECES OHNO APPLYING CARDBOARD SCALE ONTO CARDBOARD GODZILLA SCULPTURE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 29-YEAR-OLD ARTIST, MONAMI OHNO, SAYING: "I basically only make things that I like. (For example) I make the things that I would really like to decorate my house with. So I have a preference in my mind. Sometimes it's about animation, and sometimes it's about fighter planes and tanks. The things I make would change depending on what I like. I usually make what I want to decorate my house with now." SCULPTURE OF ROBOT FROM HAYAO MIYAZAKI'S ANIMATION FILM "LAPUTA: CASTLE IN THE SKY" STANDING ON TABLE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 29-YEAR-OLD ARTIST, MONAMI OHNO, SAYING: "Honestly, I don't really know if it (my work) is connected to environmental issues. But eventually if it makes a point (to address environmental issues), it would be nice if people can see my work, which is made out of cardboard and recycled materials rather than plastics, and realise that there are these kinds of people who are involved in recycling."
  • Embargoed: 14th September 2021 02:17
  • Keywords: Japan Monami Ohno anime art artist cardboard models popular culture recycling sculpture
  • Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
  • City: TOKYO, JAPAN
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Art,Asia / Pacific,Arts/Culture/Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA001ESLZ42H
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Ten years ago, 19-year-old art student Monami Ohno picked up a cardboard box for a homework assignment and made what she described was a "bike-like thing".
    "When I first tried folding the paper, gluing them and putting them together, the people around me praised me, saying things like 'wow, you can make this,' and that made me so happy that I have continued doing this (style of sculpture) until now," said Ohno, who has since made over 200 detailed sculptures, entirely out of cardboard and glue.
    Her imaginative, almost life-like cardboard sculptures have gradually gained a following in recent years.
    The subject matter of most of Ohno's work can usually be found in popular culture, ranging from giant robots from popular Japanese animation films to small-scale model kit-like renditions of tanks and fighter jets. In Ohno's words, she selects her subjects based on what she would like to see displayed in her own home.
    Rather than relying on a precise blueprint, Ohno simply draws a rough sketch on the cardboard to get an idea of the measurements before cutting out the design and moulding it, using glue and sometimes a little water.
    "I make the things I would really like to decorate my house with," she said in her studio decorated with her creations, including a child-sized Lego Batman sculpture.
    Her work has been displayed in galleries at home in Japan and overseas, but most of it isn't for sale. Instead, Ohno often relies on custom sculptures that she is commissioned to produce as a source of income.
    Ohno's commissioned pieces have sold for 100,000 yen ($909.42) to 1,500,000 Japanese yen, according to her press officer.
    Ohno said that her work doesn't necessarily have an underlying environmental theme, even though the pieces are made entirely from used cardboard.
    "Honestly, I don't really know if it (my work) is connected to environmental issues. But eventually if it makes a point (to address environmental issues), it would be nice if people can see my work, which is made out of cardboard and recycled materials rather than plastics, and realise that there are these kinds of people who are involved in recycling," Ohno said.
    (Production: Joseph Campbell, Andrew Bibee)
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