Recycled Paper Animal Scupltures - Chie Hitotsuyama

Using rolled strips of repurposed newspaper, cut and painstakingly placed using wood glue, Japanese artist Chie Hitotsuyama creates beautifully detailed, three-dimensional sculptures of wild animals… walruses, rabbits, sea turtles, iguanas, monkeys, dugongs, and more. Her work is inspired by the unnoticed daily perseverance of animals in nature. From Kokusai Pulp & Paper:

“I came across a wild rhinoceros at a national park in Zambia, Africa, which I visited at the request of one NGO in 2007 when I was working as an illustrator,” recalls Ms. Hitotsuyama. “The rhino was injured because of human egos. I heard from the park ranger who guided me that rhinos have been killed brutally by poachers who want their horns. From my wish to share this reality with many more people, I created my first work, a rhinoceros…

After that, I became strongly aware of what life is all about, what it means to live,” explains Ms. Hitotsuyama. “Animals that live in nature are equal to us in the sense that we live together on this planet. Sometimes they sleep. Sometimes they eat. They are living ordinary everyday lives just like us. I would like keep insisting on reality and producing my life-sized work as much as possible in order to convey their lives.”

Hitotsuyama’s paper work is multi-generational: Her Fuji-based studio is located in the old warehouse of a paper strip manufacturing plant that was once operated by her family.