How did you discover this beautiful craft?
When I was ten, a man from my village showed me how to make a simple object from a sheet of paper. I was so mesmerised, that I began to learn on my own, copying from books. At the time my other passion was crochet, which is similar to origami as the result depends on you following a well-defined set of rules.
How do your projects come to life?
Anything could be a source of inspiration: nature, mathematics, geometry, music. Once I get a new idea, I draw a sketch by hand, then a 3-D model, then I begin to work with paper, making attempts, folding and unfolding it hundreds of times until it’s perfect.
©Diego Diaz
Do you have any assistants or apprentices?
Not normally. But when I need help for very big projects I can count on a couple of very talented young artists – and on my best friend Jovana, who comes all the way from Serbia. Otherwise I work alone, usually by night, listening to any kind of music: from jazz to blues, rock and DJ sets.
What do you admire most about the Japanese?
Their tendency towards perfectionism: no matter what they do, they are always eager to improve themselves and their technique. That’s what I love about my job: from any project I can discover something new about my craft, but also about myself as a human being.