Japanese paper artist Chie Hitotsuyama deftly builds textured sculptures of animals using a technique meaning rolled strips of wet newspaper. The short application of each newspaper segment shows to be a beautiful method of creating the wild fur of snow monkeys or the density of scales found on the back of an iguana. For Hitotsuyama, these aspects are critical as she seeks to build the most lifelike sculptures possible.

“More than anything else, I’m particular about the realistic feel of the animals,” she said to Kokusai Pulp & Paper. “Animals that live in nature are equal to us in the sense that we live together on this planet. Sometimes they sleep. Sometimes they eat. They are living ordinary everyday lives just like us. I would like to keep insisting on reality and producing my life-sized work as much as possible in order to convey their lives.”

Hitotsuyama is currently exhibiting several sculptures as part of a residency and exhibition at MOAH:CEDAR in Lancaster, California through January 7, 2017.