ARTIST CREATES INCREDIBLE LIFE ANIMAL SCULPTURES FROM FINELY ROLLED NEWSPAPER

Expert paper artist Chie Hitotsuyama creates lifelike, incredibly detailed sculptures of animals using only regular newspapers. Hitotsuyama expertly connects twisted and rolled pieces of wet newspaper to one another to create each monster. She can accurately create any figure she wants, from a sleeping rhinoceros to an animated young monkey, by altering the paper's thickness and shape. She even makes amazing gradations by using the colourful print on newspapers. The entire process is done by hand, and it takes a great deal of paper skills.

The Japanese artist has clearly perfected her skill, yet her love of her subject matter transcends the aesthetics of her work. She told Kokusai Pulp & Paper, "I'm picky about the animals' realistic feel more than anything else." Because we all share this planet, animals in the natural world are on an equal footing with humans. They doze off occasionally. They occasionally eat. Like us, they lead regular, everyday lives. In order to portray their lives, I would like [to] continue to insist on truth and create my life-sized work as much as I can".