‘Cutting Sword’ – that’s what ‘Kiri Ken’ means in Japanese. And these exquisite masterpieces cut from paper are the work of artist Kiri Ken.
That may not sound like the best name for someone making artwork of this fineness and delicacy. But Japanese swords are revered as works of art themselves, each one individual, and of consummate precision, balance and beauty.
Kiri’s ‘sword’ though is miniature. She makes her matchless marvels with a scalpel.
Kiri Ken is keeping alive a long tradition of Japanese paper cut art (Kirie) dating right back to 610 AD when Buddhist monk Doncho brought Chinese ‘Tesuki Washi’ paper into the country for the first time.¹
© Kiri Ken
“The method she uses includes drawing the image out by hand on the reverse side of the paper, before cutting it out. This intricate technique, which takes hours to complete, represents the artist’s fascination with wildlife.”
© Kiri Ken
And that is the sum total of what I can find out about Kiri Ken. Maybe she wants to let her incomparable art speak for itself. Speak of “harmony, asymmetrical balance… impermanence and unity with the universe” – the fundaments of so much Japanese culture and art.²
© Kiri Ken
The breathtaking intricacy and beauty of living beings
© Kiri Ken
© Kiri Ken
© Kiri Ken
The web of life, joining all living things together, human and nonhuman
© Kiri Ken
The impermanence of all living beings, life as fragile as the paper on which it’s displayed
© Kiri Ken
© Kiri Ken
“We still [don’t] think of ourselves as only a tiny part of a vast and incredible universe. But man is a part of nature. In nature nothing exists alone” – Rachel Carson
“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better” – Albert Einstein
¹Papercutting – Wiki
²Japanese Way of the Artist – H.E. Davey
Sources
Fragile paper cuts reveal the intricate, swirling forms of nature : TreeHugger
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