Most of us treat origami as a simple practice—the folding of paper boxes and cranes. But the age-old practice is much more than a childhood pastime. Originating in Japan, the word “Origami” literally means fold (ori) and paper (kami). And while it’s hard to pinpoint when exactly the practice was born, paper as a medium was brought to Japan by the 6th century, and with it the art of folding.
These days, modern-day origami artists take the art of paper to a whole other level. Case in point: origami artist Ross Symons. Based in Cape Town, South Africa, Ross is a fan of all things paper, but loves especially folding paper into animals (most commonly birds but also insects and mammals).
For Symons, the interest in this ancient practice arose with an Instagram challenge. “In 2014 I decided to do a 365-day Instagram project where I folded a different origami figure every day for a year,” he shared in an interview with Allesio La Rufa. “All I could fold before then was a crane and a rabbit. I did the project so I could get better at origami and track my progress.”
A year later, and Symons was fully hooked. In fact, he quit his full-time job as a website developer and launched a brand, White on Rice, that is wholly dedicated to paper art. With tens of thousands of followers on Instagram, Symons created quite a stir online. These days, his work mainly revolves around crafting original brand content that is focused around his paper creations. His work includes origami commissions, origami installations, and stop motion animation.
“Instagram is a platform that, if used correctly, you can connect with thousands of people around the world,” says Symons. “Without Instagram, I would not be able to do what I do for a living. I connected with many people who folded paper and then eventually with people that I did work with. It is now my main marketing channel.”
This just goes to show how far the 6th century-year-old craft evolved. You’d want to take note:
