Small Paper Dancers: A Dance of Freedom in the Sky

Art Installation by Takuji Kamio, a Celebration of Freedom and Spirituality

The installation was inspired by the concept of freedom. The white stones at the bottom of the installation represent the limitations of human beings in society, while the dancers, made of paper napkins, symbolize the soul and spirituality. Once the human will is awakened, the soul begins to dance and fly, just like the paper dancers in the installation. The dancers, illuminated by LED lights, dance in the island sky, creating a mesmerizing spectacle for the viewers.

What makes this installation unique is the use of simple materials like paper napkins, string, and stones. The dancers were mostly made by school kids volunteers, with more than 2000 dancers displayed on 500 white strings. The design team installed 20-meter LED lights to provide visitors with a dramatic experience, with the dancers moving with the natural breezes.

The installation was realized using pieces of paper napkins, string, stones, and Phillips hue LED. The area of the installation was 26 sqm, with 2100 pieces of paper dancers. The paper napkin size was 165 x 250mm, and the paper dancer size was about 50 x 50 x 100mm.

Before creating the installation, Kamio visited the island several times to study its physical and cultural environments. He realized that the children on the island needed more opportunities to expand their future, and the festival could provide an educational chance for them. The design team aimed to present an art form that even children could join and make, using materials that were safe and easy for children to handle.

The project faced several challenges, the most significant being the display phase. To make the dancers move naturally with the wind, the team had to figure out the ideal looseness of the strings and how to fix them to the floor strongly enough. They used white stones and layered double-sided tapes. The team also applied lacquer coating to the paper dancers to increase their hardness and protect them from dust damage.

Small Paper Dancers was awarded the Golden A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award in 2018. This prestigious award is granted to marvelous, outstanding, and trendsetting creations that reflect the designer's prodigy and wisdom. They are venerated products and bright ideas that advance art, science, design, and technology, embodying extraordinary excellence and significantly impacting the world with their desirable characteristics.