Unfolding : The Paper Art and Science of Matthew Shlian Paperback / softback

A complete retrospective of the paper engineer and artist Matthew Shlian, documenting a decade of unrivalled and unexpected creativity. Paper engineer and artist Matthew Shlian has always recognized the material’s potential for experimentation.

Folded, tessellated, compressed, extrapolated, two-dimensional paper becomes three-dimensional sculpture in beautiful and unexpected ways. ‘My process is extremely varied from piece to piece.

Often I start without a clear goal in mind, working within a series of limitations.

For example on one piece I’ll only use curved folds, or make my lines this length or that angle, etc.

Other times I begin with an idea for movement and try to achieve that shape or form somehow.’ Unfolding is Shlian’s first comprehensive monograph.

A journey into the new possibilities of folding technology, the intricate complexities of Islamic patterns, and the sheer potential offered by a sheet of white paper, it celebrates a humble material, on the edge of its existence, elevated to timeless form and possibility.