Tom Oaten

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Rule of six

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We have been experiencing a new mass migration. The movement indoors, behind windows and screens. How can we reconnect with the world around us to again feel fully alive. A place where movements were not as restricted and time spent outside four-walls with more than six people felt natural? Fuelled by the ‘new normal’, I took to playing with paper. The material of the pandemic, usually found when redeemed from packaging left by deliveries and essential retailers. Deconstructing paper and fusing it with nature collected on walks lead eventually to the creation of low-poly hats made for virtual get-togethers. The hats became more than a novel past time during lockdown. The constant act of making computer aided models on the cutting mat brought new wellness and rhythm to wellbeing. This series especially has been a celebration of the beauty and danger of natural life. The beauty of a time spent sometimes more deeply with friends and family, and the danger from the virus, a powerful force for uncertainty.

 

Sharing these designs with others during this restricted time has been significant and special. Here at this exhibition they are shared again, with you the viewer and maker. Experience them or take your own home from this space to yours, designs will be available through the folding shop.  

 

https://www.instagram.com/tomoaten/

https://www.instagram.com/thefoldingshop/