Echiko Ohira is an artist whose work is deeply influenced by the natural world and the cycle of life. For Ohira, creativity emerges from the everyday—life, living things, and natural phenomena are constant sources of inspiration. She describes her artistic practice as a kind of visual diary, where each piece reflects the moments and observations of daily life.
Paper has been a central element in Ohira's work since childhood. Growing up in a traditional Japanese home, she was surrounded by paper in the form of fusuma screens, shoji screens, and beautiful hanging scrolls. In Japanese culture, paper is not just a material but a fundamental aspect of design and architecture. From a young age, Ohira developed a deep affinity for paper, engaging with it through the practice of origami and transforming everyday scraps into imaginative creations. Her father, an architect, would bring home discarded blueprints, which Ohira would repurpose into drawings and objects, sparking her lifelong connection to paper as both a medium and a source of creative expression.
After moving to Los Angeles, Ohira's connection to paper deepened when she began using brown paper bags—originally from the grocery store—as her primary material. Her apartment soon became filled with these humble bags, which she would sculpt into small, intricate works. This organic process, rooted in her personal history, led her to continue working with paper—a simple yet profound material that holds both beauty and meaning.
Through her work, Echiko Ohira explores the quiet power of everyday materials, inviting viewers to reflect on the cycles of life, the presence of nature, and the beauty found in the simplest forms of our environment.
