claudio acuña j. folds paper into people to reflect our use of public spaces

‘plegados itinerantes’ – or ‘travelling folds’ – is a project developed by claudio acuña j., in which he has installed more than 300 paper figures in public places in several cities of chile. since 2017, the artist and designer has inserted the sculptures into open spaces. as they replace people, audiences are invited to reflect on the use of public spaces in the city and our behavior as citizens.

all images courtesy of claudio acuña j.

each of the figures are created by claudio acuña j. from a square piece of paper without making any cuts, but instead using the technique of origami. the intricate sculptures are made a scale of 1:1 to achieve a daily ‘mirror’ of the inhabitants of the city. what results in a strong visual impact when viewed together, the project in essence highlights how cities are build by the people that inhabit them.

the artist explains, ‘the figures are installed so that they can be intervened by people, change their position, interact with them or take them to another place, the figures are neutral and faceless, so that they can reflect all citizens, children, women or men, that is, all the diversity you can find in a city. ‘

project info:

project name: ‘plegados itinerantes’ (travelling folds)

artist: claudio acuña j.

location: chile

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom