The natural world is full of fascinating shapes. However, not all of them are visible to the naked eye. In fact, some of the most intricate organisms and processes are those that happen at a microscopic level. Marrying science with art, Rogan Brown has long produced delicate paper sculptures that evoke big and small living beings through their striking level of detail.
From coral to fossils and microbes, Brown magnifies the cellular structures that make up flora and fauna. Throughout his work, there is a sense of overwhelmed awe at how everything is made up of smaller pieces that we’ll never fully grasp.
“The mesmerizing diversity of organic forms and the delicate accretion of detail built up layer upon layer has directly inspired the way I design and construct my own sculptures,” Brown previously told My Modern Met.
Brown produces each element of his elaborate works by hand cutting them on white paper with the help of a scalpel rather than relying on a machine. This choice to manually produce each cut is a tribute to nature as the ultimate artist. These are later assembled into complex systems of layers around a circular canvas. Within the composition, controlled chaos reigns—reminding us how nature is hardly symmetrical nor perfect, and yet all these bits coexist and thrive within their environments.
“Paper is fragile and delicate but also, paradoxically, incredibly strong and durable: the tree is cut and transformed into the sheet but its power and strength is not lost and in my work,” Brown said. “I try in some way to restore that power and strength in order to achieve a poetic balance. I use white paper almost exclusively because it confers on the work a ghostly fragile quality, maximizes the play of light and shadow and mimics the aesthetics of electron micrographs. The white on white layers make the work almost disappear and so the viewer has to strain their eyes to see it and this is what the artist must do: push people to open their eyes and take the time to see, breaking free from their habitual ways of looking.”
To stay up to date with Brown’s stunning work, you can follow him on Instagram.
Marrying science with art, Rogan Brown has long produced delicate paper sculptures.
His pieces evoke big and small living beings through their striking level of detail.
From coral to fossils and microbes, Brown magnifies the cellular structures that make up flora and fauna.
Throughout his work, there is a sense of overwhelmed awe at how everything is made up of smaller pieces that we’ll never fully get to grasp.
“The mesmerizing diversity of organic forms and the delicate accretion of detail built up layer upon layer has directly inspired the way I design and construct my own sculptures,” shares Brown.
Brown produces each element of his elaborate works by cutting them by hand on white paper with the help of a scalpel rather than relying on a machine.
These are later assembled into complex systems of layers around a circular canvas.
Within the composition, controlled chaos reigns—reminding us how nature is hardly symmetrical nor perfect, and yet all these bits coexist and thrive within their environments.
Rogan Brown: Website | Facebook | Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Rogan Brown.
Related Articles:
Multicolored Paper Art of the Human Microbiome Mimics Textures Found in Coral Reefs
Kirigami: The Ancient Art of Paper Cutting and How Artists Are Keeping It Alive
Interview: Artist Reveals Bristling Scales by Meticulously Cutting a Single Sheet of Paper
Interview: Artist Hand-Cuts Intricate Illustrations from Single Sheets of Paper