From the land of the origami, comes Ribbonesia. If you’re wondering what this is, it’s the Japanese art of ribbon sculpting that uses ribbons to create sculptures. And we thought ribbons were meant only to wrap gifts with!
The concept of Ribbonesia was introduced by the Japanese duo, Baku Maeda, an illustrator, and Toru Yoshikawa, a creative director. The two pitted their respective expertise together to establish this fascinating field.
So, how did they get started? It was Baku who, under Toru, started creating animals with ribbons for their designs. However, the ribbon sculptures turned out so good that the two realized its business potential. It didn’t take them long to launch their company and hold exhibitions in Japan.
Baku maintains that using ribbons for wrapping is not doing justice to it; it should be put to better use. And what better than to create sculptures out of them! These sculptures are like 3D paintings, with each twist of ribbon representing a brushstroke. The reflectiveness of the ribbon makes the sculpture more appealing.
Baku admits that a ribbon twist cannot duplicate a brushstroke since it cannot acquire any shape. You need to go with the flow of the fabric and understand its tension and character. For him, this is its most interesting feature.
Toru realized that to get Ribbonesia off the ground, it had to be popularized and what better way than to turn to the internet. Luckily, their work was picked up by a few blogs and western art websites and it started grabbing eyeballs. Showcasing their products on Facebook and Instagram further boosted their popularity.
Not only did Ribbonesia received a warm welcome for its ardent fans, but it also gained international attention in exhibitions on the global platform. The duo created window displays for Lane Crawford and was also commissioned by Hong Kong’s Mandarin Oriental hotel, among others.
RIBBONESIA: Website | Instagram