Gifted Unit on Origami and Sadako & the Thousand Paper Cranes Novel Study
Sipho Mabona
Sipho Mabona was five years old when he folded his first paper airplane. When he ran out of paper airplane designs to fold, he turned to origami hoping it would enable him to come up with original designs.
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Sipho is now an accomplished origami artist whose work is exhibited in galleries and museums around the globe. His pieces focus on large-scale installations. He currently lives in Zürich, Switzerland.
Sipho And The Square
White Elephant
White Elephant Prototype
Wanting to prove that there are no limits to what can be made out of a square piece of paper, Sipho came up with the idea to fold a life-size origami elephant from a single piece of paper. He funded the White Elephant project using Kickstarter.
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Mabona used a sheet of paper that was 50 feet by 50 feet to create an elephant standing more than 10 feet tall! The paper was applied over a metal support structure and sealed with acrylic paint. Two cameras recorded the build and were streamed live online. Watch the videos below to see for yourself!
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White Elephant Time Lapse
White Elephant
Asics Video
Origami in the Pursuit of Perfection
Sipho was commissioned to create origami for Asics, the popular Japanese company that makes footwear and sporting goods. His work was featured in an inspirational film that was used within the Asics company, and also received several awards.
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