John Oliver Japanese artist Ayumi Shibata uses traditional methods of Japanese paper cutting to create mini-cities within vessels of glass. Her selected materials benchmark the fragile relationship people have with our environment and normal powers of our world, while also associated with the Japanese translation of “paper.” The word for “paper” is ” which also can mean “God, “Kami,” “divinity,” or “spirit.” Kami are omnipresent in the Shinto religion and reside in the earth, the skies, trees, and rocks.
“Kami move freely beyond areas, universe and time, appearing during events, in addition to in our bodies and our houses,” said Shibata on her website. “ paper is also dwelt in by These spirits. In the religion of Shinto, white paper is known as a holy material.”
Using this material that is charged, Shibata tries to build a sculptural dialogue about exactly how we respond and connect to our natural world.
