Folded Light Art – JIANGMEI WU

Pliant Pleats

February 6, 2020February 8, 2021 jiawuLeave a comment

Pliant Pleats are inspired by the organic and curvilinear pleats found in nature and fashion. Folded from a single large sheet of Hi-tec Kozo, each of the Pliant Pleats is stretched into either an undulating or even surface with a gentle curving silhouette. When illuminated, the minimalistic quality of material and craft is aglow in the dramatic gradations of light and shadows.

The origami behind Pliant Pleats is based on flat-foldable Miura-ori tessellation. Miura-ori, credited to Japanese astrophysicist Koryo Miura, has become well-known for its application in deployable structures, such as the solar array deployed in a 1995 mission for JAXA, the Japanese space agency. However, to fold Miura-ori into smooth curvature is materially impossible – the width of paper corrugation will be too small to fold physically. So, in order to generate folded surfaces with smooth and gentle curves, Miura-ori is altered by adding divots. Using linear algebra and algorithm-based design tools such as Grasshopper and Rhino, parametric changes of the folding angles and their relationships to the target smooth curved profiles were studied. To produce Punica, a member of the Pliant Pleats collection, an approximation of the target profile of a sine curve is first generated. This profile curve is then arrayed and stretched into a rotational double-curved surface. Since the pleating width is independent of folding angles, it can then be varied to create expressive designs.

Punica

Width 24″, Height 26″

High-tec Kozo, stainless steel, LED

Folded from a single piece of High-tec Kozo paper. LED globe to provide warm and bright light.

This light art is shipped flat.

Pebble

Length 30″, Width 20″, Height 13″

High-tec Kozo, stainless steel, LED

Folded from a single piece of High-tec Kozo paper. LED globe to provide warm and bright light.

This light art is shipped flat.

Poche

Length 24″, Width 14″, Height 19″

High-tec Kozo, stainless steel, LED

Folded from a single piece of High-tec Kozo paper. LED globe to provide warm and bright light.

This light art is shipped flat.

Anemoi

February 6, 2017February 8, 2021 jiawuLeave a comment

The visual forms found in Anemoi Light Art are similar to the soft and swaying body structure of the sea anemone (in Greek, Anemoi means “winds” and Anemone means “daughter of the wind”). It is made of a type of lightweight and non-rigid material and folded and assembled to create a semi-rigid structure. When suspended and illuminated, Anemoi lights sway into ephemeral and gentle patterns of light and shadow, softening their surroundings with pristine, mathematical geometry and rich, natural textures.

The seed for the form genesis of Anemoi is an origami module. Through an algorithm based design process, this simple module seed is rhythmically repeated in a series of definitions and mathematical functions in the software program Grasshopper so as to create complex assemblies. By changing the mathematical parameters in the algorithmic structure, a myriad of distortions and transformations are generated in order to study the relationship between form, structure, and global flat-foldability.

The main material is a type of tear-free Shoji paper called Hi-tec Kozo, which has a three-layer structure, with eco-friendly polyester film as core and Kozo Washi on both sides. Kozo Washi is a type of renewable material that is made from the inner bark of Kozo, a type of mulberry tree. Kozo plant grows more than three meters high in a year and can be sustainably harvested each year.

Boreas

Diameter 38″

High-tec Kozo, plastic, stainless steel, LED

Folded from 128 pieces of High-tec Kozo paper.

LED globe to provide warm and bright light.

This light art is shipped flat.

2016 Niche Awards Winner, Professional, Paper

Eurus

Diameter 32″

High-tec Kozo, plastic, stainless steel, LED

Folded from 144 pieces of cut High-tec Kozo paper.

LED globe to provide warm and bright light.

This light art is shipped flat.

2015 LAMP International Lighting Competition Finalist Juror’s Award, Craft Forms 2015, 21st International Juried Exhibition

Notus

Diameter 38″

High-tec Kozo, plastic, stainless steel, LED

Folded from 216 pieces of cut High-tec Kozo paper.

LED globe to provide warm and bright light.

This light art is shipped flat.

Zephyrus

Diameter 32″

High-tec Kozo, plastic, stainless steel, LED

Folded from 128 pieces of cut High-tec Kozo paper.

LED globe to provide warm and bright light.

This light art is shipped flat.

2016 Niche Awards Finalist

Zushiki

February 6, 2016February 8, 2021 jiawuLeave a comment

Zushiki, or 図式, is a Japanese word for plan, scheme, pattern and design. Zushiki Light Art is inspired by modular origami in which multiple sheets of paper are used to create a larger and more complex design. These designs are not possible using single-piece origami techniques. Historically, modular origami first appeared in a Japanese book published in 1743 called Ranma Zushiki. The book shows a modular origami cube called tamatebako, or玉手箱, translated as “magic treasure chest.”

Each of Zushiki Light Art is folded from several sheets of acid-free cotton paper and connected by either adhesives or metal rings. Illuminated by LEDs, each Zushiki lights, invites the ephemeral interplay between the light and shadow throughout the night, providing a soft ambience that highlights the intricacy and the mathematical complexity of each piece.

Icicle

Diameter: 12″

Cotton Paper, Stainless Steel, Acid-free Adhesive, LED

Folded from twenty pieces of paper.

LED globe to provide warm and bright light.

This light can be packaged flat.

Assembly required.

This light comes with a LED globe and a white or black cloth covered cord.

Pineapple

Diameter: 14″

Cotton Paper, Stainless Steel, Acid-free Adhesive, LED

Folded from twelve pieces of paper.

LED globe to provide warm and bright light.

This light art is not for sale.

Twister

Width: 18″

Cotton Paper, Acid-free Adhesive, LED strip

Folded from ten pieces of uncut squares.

Custom LED strip to provide warm and bright light.

This light is not for sale.

Planeta

Diameter: 16″

Cotton Paper, Stainless Steel, Acid-free Adhesive, LED

Folded from thirty pieces of paper.

LED globe to provide warm and bright light.

This light art is not for sale.

Crystalline

Diameter: 13″

Cotton Paper, Stainless Steel, Acid-free Adhesive, LED

Folded from twenty pieces of paper.

LED globe to provide warm and bright light.

Crystalline is designed as a DIY project.

The instruction is available at http://www.instructables.com/id/Crystalline/.

See a short video of how to create Crystalline on Vimeo.

Kawasaki

February 6, 2016February 8, 2021 jiawuLeave a comment

Kawasaki Light Art is inspired by flat-foldable origami. In Mathematics of paper folding, Kawasaki’s theorem, named after Toshikazu Kawasaki, gives a criterion for determining whether a crease pattern with a single vertex may be folded to form a flat figure. For a design to be completely folded into a flat figure, one of the requirements is that Kawasaki’s theorem must be satisfied at each vertex.

Each Kawasaki Light Art can be folded from a single piece of sheet material, in either Tyvek or Hi-tec Kozo. It can be folded into flat figures and can then be deployed into a three dimensional volume. Therefore, Kawasaki lights can be shipped in small, flat and light packages and can be easily assembled using plastic buttons.

For more research related to Kawasaki light art, please visit here.