nissan forms full-size origami car with 2,000 folded paper sheets

nissan forms full-size origami car with 2,000 folded pieces of paper
images courtesy of nissan

to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the nissan juke, british artist owen gildersleeve collaborated with the japanese automobile manufacturer to create a life-size origami replica of the SUV. the unique sculpture features 2,000 folded pieces of paper and took more than 200 hours to make, hand built to the exact dimensions of the current juke. the origami vehicle includes the same design elements — wheel fenders, lights and grill — that give the real-life model its distinctive quality. symbolically, the project nods to nissan’s japanese heritage and references the very first steps of car design, getting an idea onto paper.

the unique sculpture features 2,000 folded pieces of paper

‘as a celebration piece it draws on so many influences, such as the origami focus inspired by nissan’s japanese roots,’ gildersleeve says. ‘using so many individual pieces of paper to create the overall structure also represents the thousands of people who helped bring the nissan juke into reality and the thousands who continue to do so right here in the UK.’

the project took more than 200 hours to make, hand built to the exact dimensions of the current juke

the origami vehicle includes the same design elements that give the real-life model its distinctive quality

a paper logo is fitted onto the specially-crafted wheel

silver and yellow paper is folded in an origami style arrangement

the impression of lights are made through the use of glossy red paper

each unit of the car has been carefully formed from thousands of paper sheets

finishing touches include adding the nissan emblem onto the paper vehicle

attaching the back of the car to the body

detail of the making-of the life-size origami replica of nissan juke

folding the 2,000 paper sheets required more than 200 hours of work