Ingrid Siliakus, paper architect

Ingrid Siliakus first discovered paper architecture by seeing work of the originator of this art form Prof. Masahiro Chatani (architect and professor in Japan). He developed this art form in the early 1980's. Ingrid was instantly fascinated by the ingenious manner in which these pieces were designed and by the beauty they radiated. Ingrid studied the originator's work for some years and than started to design herself. Ingrid states that working with this art form has given her personal means of expressing. Her designing skills have grown over the years. Her specialties are buildings of master architects and intricate abstract sculptures. Her source of inspiration by these abstract sculptures are works of artists like M.C. Escher. With buildings she feels attracted to work of Berlage and Gaudi.

Paper Architecture is the art of creating an object out of a single piece of paper. Before the final design is finished, something like 20 to 30 (sometimes even more) prototypes are made by Ingrid. Drawing paper architecture designs to Ingrid is as building: first one layer, with a single shape, will be drawn and than layer after layer are added. This process continues till she is satisfied with the result. All separate prototypes are cut and folded, to be examined by her. To design a pattern from scratch, the artist needs the skills of an architect to create a two-dimensional design, which, with the patience and precision of a surgeon, becomes an ingenious three-dimensional wonder of paper. After the design stage, creating a paper architecture art work is done by a combination of detailed cutting and folding. The paperweight Ingrid uses for her creations varies from 160 to 300 gram.
Statement of the artist (for the Holland Paper Exhibition in 2006): '...Working with paper forces me to be humble, since this medium has a character of its own that asks for cooperation. It is a challenge to find this cooperation with each separate paper brand I work with. Working with paper the way I do, namely by means of cutting and folding creating paper sculptures, asks of me to work with meditative precision. Paper architecture does not bare haste, it is its enemy; one moment of loss of concentration, can lead to failure of a piece...' '...I experience an ultimate satisfaction at the critic moment when the paper, with a silenced sigh, surrenders and becomes a blade-sharp crease. The sound of the paper, which guides this surrendering, to me is incomparable...