Cardboard Bonsai
2023
Found cardboard with hot glue sculpture.
8” x 4” x 11”
8” x 4” x 11”
A unique style of sculpture using 2D cardboard to imply the dimensions of a complex 3D shape. All the cardboard parts I used were found objects from the recycling bins of my school and apartment building. I started the base structure of the trunk with a slotted X intersection following the zig-zag shape. I added a couple of branches sticking out before using tons of chopped up toilet paper rolls or scored corrugated cardboard to connect between the openings to further the 3D form and imply a viney structure. I then needed a base to attach everything to where I constructed a clean square bonsai pot with a lip, feet stands, and peeled back
corrugated piece to give the sandy and dirty texture to the soil. Lastly I found thick chunks of an insulating honeycomb structure used in a furniture box that I could carve into rounded shapes that work perfectly for thick bonsai leaves.