Juho Könkkölä: addicted to paper folding

Finnish craftsman Juho Könkkölä had been making origami figures since he was a child, but it was only after he submitted a proposal for an exhibition in 2018 that it became central to his craft practice. Posting his cream-coloured figures on social media took his popularity to another level. His deeply complex figures – presented in pairs, groups or on their own under glass boxes – are like frozen moments of theatre. Narrative is fundamental to his work, which fuses some of the elements and materials of the traditional Asian craft with a modern take on folklore and myth. His characters, which can be up to 20cm tall, include knights and samurai warriors. Könkkölä is self-taught and may devote years to the planning and creation of a single work. His work combines intense craftsmanship with innovation and the freedom of fantasy.

How did you first start working with origami?

I was first making origami more than 15 years ago, when I was a little kid. Back then it was mostly just a hobby for me. I went to art school at the University of Applied Sciences, then I started to design my own origamis. I just got bored one day and decided I wanted to make my own figures, and then it absolutely went out of my hands. I didn't even consider origami as art. I created some figure ideas and applied for one art exhibition just for fun. They took all of my origami ideas and so then I decided maybe this is something that I could do more of. I think it's quite therapeutic; I am a little bit addicted to folding the paper. It's a fun process to make everything by hand.

How does your work differ from traditional origami?

It's a very different kind of method of designing origami. In traditional origami, you split the circle in 22.5 degree angles, and I do 45 degree angles – and this is the basis of everything. It gets quite a bit more complex to try to explain how I create these figures. I had to figure out on my own how to make them. It was mostly experimentation for a few years.

 What paper and materials go into your process?

I mostly use rice paper but also quite a few different handmade papers as they are much better for origami than machine made papers. I have a different kind of treating process. If you just use the paper, you cannot really make origami; it's too soft and it opens. I have to treat it and when it's treated, it becomes very crisp, then holds its shape much better. I use wet-folding techniques, which makes it easier for them to hold their shape over a long time. I have been improving that for a few years. They're quite sturdy for a paper figure. They are rock solid when they're finished.

Is there a lot of planning involved?

I can plan a piece for months, or even years, before I start folding it. It's a long process to make one figure, and it's quite complicated. It has many steps from the idea to the artwork. I could be making five or ten artworks at the same time. When I face challenges in the making, then I can just stop and move on to the next one. While I'm making that I might find a solution to the first one.

What are your inspirations for the figures you create?

One of my biggest inspirations is the challenge of creating something that hasn’t been created before. I take ideas from mythologies, history or something like that. I make some Finnish characters, but also from around the world, from themes or myths I find interesting. But I always try to come up with the challenge first. I’m currently trying to make two knights that are fighting each other from one paper. This is quite a challenging piece. I have been working on it for more than two and a half years already.

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