For London-based kirigami paper artist and designer director Marc Hagan-Guirey (AKA Paper Dandy), a turning point came in March of 2012 when – after picking up the kirigami craft – he decided to leave his job as Head of Design at a Soho-based advertising agency to concentrate on paper engineering full-time, starting with his first personal project Horrorgami.
Marc’s first foray into kirigami – which is a variation of origami that focuses more on cutting paper than folding it (from Japanese “kiru” = to cut, “kami” = paper) – opened up on Halloween of that year and featured a collection of 13 kirigami structures based on selected locations from various horror-themed television shows and films. Due to the popularity of the exhibition – which was picked up by everyone from the BBC to Wired and Creative Review – Marc has had no difficulty securing work from commercial and private clients who want to add a little kirigami flair to internal projects and advertising campaigns. Among others he has worked with to date include Samsung Galaxy, Procter & Gamble and Decorex International, among others.
Of course, it’s difficult to be a talented artist or designer in 2015 without having some sort of a love for the world of Star Wars – and Hagan-Guirey is no different.
Having been a life long fan of the Star Wars saga, Hagan-Guirey actually created his first Star Wars-inspired kirigami collection before the Horrorgami collection that put his name on the map. Needless to say, he’s had plenty of time to refine his scalpel skills and ensure that every last Stormtrooper, Ewok or TIE Bomber looks absolutely perfect – and now he wants to share his collection of complex 3D Star Wars scenes that were engineered from single sheets of A4 paper with the world.
Although he is not seeking funds to complete his project, Hagan-Guirey has turned to Kickstarter to help raise the £16,600 necessary to ensure that he can create the exhibition experience he’s envisioning for the already-made Star Wars scenes.
“My goal isn’t to make a profit – it’s simply to produce the exhibition so that Star Wars fans can enjoy seeing the unique kirigami models in their physical form,” said Hagan-Guirey.
“Every penny will go towards making a better gallery experience.”
Since starting on the project, Marc has financed the entire thing on his own – including the manufacturing of the dedicated display cases that have become the bulk of his expenses.
“It is incredibly important for (me) to remain entirely respectful to the Star Wars brand and therefore will not be selling editions of the art. This means the funds to produce the exhibition must come from elsewhere. (My) goal isn’t to make a profit – it’s simply to produce the exhibition so that Star Wars fans can enjoy seeing the unique kirigami models in their physical form. Every penny will go towards making a better gallery experience.”
With 26 days left to go, Hagan-Guirey has already raised nearly two-thirds of his campaign goal. For those who are in London, this might be one Kickstarter project worth supporting … those who help fund the project have the option for a private viewing of the show when it opens. For those not in the London area, other rewards include desktop wallpaper and signed copies of paper cuts. Find out more by heading over to Kickstarter.
