CrEaSinG CurrenCy
origami with a valuable twist
IN 105 AD, Tsai Lun, a servant of the Chinese emperor’s court, invented the papermaking process from which primitive forms of the paper folding art of origami also originated. As with so many other Chinese inventions, this papermaking process eventually spread to Korea, Vietnam and Japan. Buddhist monks carried paper to Japan in the sixth century, and it would be around the same period that origami really took off. The very first Japanese origami was used for religious ceremonial purposes only because of the high cost of paper at that time. The price of paper also meant that only the rich could afford to do paper folding for leisure; ordinary Japanese treasured what little paper they could buy and only used origami for practical purposes. The Samurai would exchange gifts through a form of paper folding called noshi, where paper was folded and elaborately tied – with a strip of dried fresh meat inside. This was considered a token of good luck. Shinto noblemen celebrated weddings by wrapping glasses of sake or rice wine in butterfly origami that had been folded to represent the bride and groom. As paper became less expensive through the development of simpler papermaking methods, origami became a popular art form for the Japanese, rich or poor alike. But practitioners of origami were careful not to waste anything, even the tiniest scraps, as they would put them aside for use in other origami pieces. The origins of the name are straightforward: ori means “folding” and kami means “paper” (kami changes to gami when the words are combined). Origami is very architectural and mathematical in nature. The classic work of origami is that of the crane (tsuru). A Japanese legend says that he who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish.
BANkNOTe jAMBORee
Origami using banknotes for paper is known as “moneygami”. It was five years ago when I first saw moneygami artworks on TV. Impressed, I decided to try my hand at it, and moneygami soon became an addiction. My works focuses on the portrait on the banknote. Any proper origami experience I had was only during my childhood. To this day, I have no proper knowledge of origami per se. Folding banknotes, however, came easy: I seemed to get it perfectly right the first time around. I have yet to find an explanation for this. My work has no relation to the true foundations of origami folding, due to my lack of training in the art form. My folding style is very sensory, based on improvisation. In fact, I can’t always remember how I folded the pieces I’ve made, and I certainly can’t explain or teach how it’s done. Although I’ve made over 400 pieces, I can remember the step-by-step process for only around 10. To me, one of the objectives of moneygami is making use of the faces of noteworthy people. The challenge is to fold the stern or serious face of a great man or woman many know so well and create an engaging new portrait in a fresh context. It brings me closer to the person and gives me a newfound respect for them.