Mention paper sculptures and the thought usually goes to the Japanese traditional art of Origami. However, what Asya Kozina and Dmitriy Kozin create out of paper is certainly mind-blowing! This duet not just creates run-of-the-mill paper sculptures, but actually explores the possibilities through cultural research of different historical, traditional and artistic renderings.
Such is the historical grasp of this St. Petersburg-based duo that they reproduce cultures and styles in the paper, such as African, Art nouveau, Baroque, Mongolian, Scythian and others. What’s more, all their creations use plain white sheets, which has become their signature mark. According to them, white paper allows them to give emphasis to form and, at the same time, hide secondary details.
The beauty of their masterpieces is they’re completely handcrafted and unique in all respects, making them difficult to replicate. This is opposed to paper creations that use digital tools, a modern-day trend. Such is the expertise of this duo in creating their works that it appears graphically designed using digital software.
Their extravagant hair and headpieces of the Baroque period, combining contemporary themes, have become a rage. Another series created for Dolce & Gabbana features animals and objects, such as whale, lobster, ships, etc. Regarding this particular work, Kozina tells Colossal, “We did this work and had the idea to do works with various marine monsters. In the old times, sailors believed in gigantic sea monsters…All characters are taken from folk myths.”
The duo has many laurels to their credit. They’ve won the Ukrainian Art Week international competition and are part of many exhibitions, such as the Kuklandia Summer group exhibition at Surgut Art Museum, the III BUMPROM International Specialized Paper Art Exhibition in Moscow, Russia, and many more.
The duo enjoys over 56,000 viewers on Instagram and many more on other social media platforms.
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