It’s no wonder origami is such a popular pastime. The memories of following paper crane tutorials and pushing down on jumping frogs remain dear in peoples’ lives. While we might remember the artform for its simplicity, artist Pei Haozheng has been attempting to change that perception.
Born in China’s Jiangsu province in 1996, Haozheng is a self-proclaimed “SciArtist” and has been interested in origami as long as he could remember. He began folding paper as a kindergartener, and began to perfect his craft through reviewing intermediate and advanced literature all about the craft. From middle school onwards, origami consumed his life. He went on to win numerous awards at the national and international levels for his original paper sculptures while attending national TV programs such as Super Brain and Forward to the Future.
But Haozheng’s ambitions didn’t stop there—he set his sights on making history. In September of 2022, he set the Guinness World Record for the most origami flowers made from a single sheet of paper. In March 2023, he repeated his feat by creating the world’s largest origami snail. And most recently in May 2024, he cut out the longest singular strip from a sheet of paper. At just 29 years old, Haozheng has accomplished what most origamists could only dream of—not once, but three times.
Haozheng’s work continues to challenge the limits of paper folding, proving that origami is not just an art but an evolving science. He has always cited his fondness of the intersection between art and mathematics as the reason for his proclivity towards his study of origami. With the calculated manipulation of shapes and folds, origami allows for art to blossom in a mathematical environmental.
Decades of his life’s work has been published online, and I would be reminiscing if I didn’t debrief individual artworks. Therefore, I will be sharing my top 5 favorite works from him below!
5. Light from Heaven
By Pei Haozheng – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=135609987
Something about this piece is so elegant and I cannot pinpoint a single detail. It could be the crumpled dresses, intricately folded wings, or silky hair. The two angel-resembling characters are held together by a thin sheet, and their placement irradiates beauty–even if they’re just white paper. It might not be a popular choice, but I think its complexity is underappreciated.
4. Qilin
By Pei Haozheng – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=135609974
The Qilin is a mythical Chinese creature that symbolizes prosperity and serenity. Made out of just a singular piece of paper, Haozheng’s creation boasts golden scales and a majestic stance. I don’t know what entrances me more, the sculpture or the meaning behind it. Knowing its fragility somehow makes it more significant in meaning. Both as a narrative and a cultural artifact, Qilin is one of Pei Haozheng’s most intriguing works.
3. Ice Cube Tessellation
By Pei Haozheng – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=135609906
This piece is a Voronoi tessellation. If you have absolutely no clue what that is, think of the tiles on your kitchen floor. It’s essentially a geometrically significant pattern. Although it might not look the most interesting at first sight, the cultural significance of this piece is what makes it high on the list. In 2021, Haozheng presented this artwork to Zheng Fang, the architect recognized for designing Olympic stadiums for the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2022 Winter Olympics. Not only was this gesture reflective of Haozheng’s own love for geometry, but it was an appreciation for Fang’s own contributions to architecture.
2. Deer with 100 Flowers
By Pei Haozheng – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=135609928
This is the piece that earned Pei Haozheng his first Guinness World Record. It sounds exactly like what its title suggests: a sculpted paper deer with 100 flowers on its head, all made from 1 uncut piece of paper. It took Pei and his team a total of 5 days to fold, earning them the record for the most origami flowers made from a single sheet of paper. To me, this is one of his most visually beautiful pieces. The flowers growing from the deer’s antlers are symbolic, and the creature itself is sculpted with esteemed craftsmanship. It certainly reaches a level of origami most people never get close to in their lives.
- Between Chaos and Order
This is perhaps Haozheng’s most simplistic yet complicated piece in his entire portfolio. Earning him another Guinness World Record, this paradoxical artwork was completed when Haozheng meticulously cut the world’s longest continuous strip with a single sheet of A4 paper, rearranging the line to resemble a brain slice next to his signature. Although some might say it was just a straightforward cutting session, the whole process actually took Haozheng a whopping year for the experimentation process. With this piece, he intends to strike a balance between chaos and order, explaining that the human brain is highly ordered but, just like the easily moldable paper, also highly chaotic. This artwork led me to discover the rest of Pei Haozheng’s works in the first place, and perfectly emphasizes the balance between art and science.