Twelve years ago, I started a series of interviews, looking for young, emerging creators, trying to map the big names of the future. The idea was to show how one crossed the line between passive folding and original creation (and to show that it is not as hard as one may think) and to get to know better the people behind the works.
I did 26 interviews over eight years, and I believe they covered the new generation of creators quite thoroughly.
A dozen years have passed since I started the project, and the group is no longer young or new to us. Seeing that more than a decade has passed clicked in my head and caused me to think about what happened during that time: how people changed, how they perceive origami today and how their work evolved. Twelve years of practicing paper folding should involve a substantial amount of learning, and I wish to learn from that, as well.
Our first guest is Victor Coeurjoly. Here is the link to his 2013 interview. And here is the updated version:
1. Victor Coeurjoly
Q Twelve years later, who is Victor Coeurjoly today? Please tell me in five sentences what you wish us to know about you.
A During these years, I’ve continued doing origami, creating new models and testing new techniques. I moved to Ireland, where I continue designing foldable cardboard structures. Here, I started getting interested in subjects like physics, anatomy and fluid mechanics. These new interests help me understand how matter takes shape and what forms emerge in nature as a result. I haven’t decided yet whether I’ll move to another country or stay longer. I don’t have a specific plan, other than continuing what I’m doing.
2. Origami and You
Q How do you perceive origami nowadays, and what has changed after more than a decade?
A My perception of origami has changed over the years. I no longer see it just as folding paper but more as the study of how matter shapes itself and how patterns emerge in nature. I find inspiration in the parallels between origami and the physical world: uncertainty, perception, and the inseparability of things. This has led me to explore new forms and techniques, treating origami as something much deeper and wider. It can be playful and meditative.
An origami universe would not start with a Big Bang, but with a small pinch.
3. Your Inspiration
Q Are you still creating new models? You have been working in the packaging industry for a long time now. Does this affect your work? What other sources of inspiration have you found over the years?
A I've been designing folded structures for 12 years, specializing in large cardboard designs like displays, furniture and decorations. My job is translating client ideas into foldable, mass-producible structures using CAD tools like ArtiosCAD and EngView. It includes designing the crease pattern, simulating the folding material, prototyping and preparing the blueprint for production. Working in the industry gives me daily access to new materials, machines and a skilled team that supports my experimental origami projects. It’s like an origami lab, and I encourage anyone interested in the subject to contact me about design or production issues and projects or just to share some ideas.
I also take part in other origami-related projects, like collapsible plastic shelters, fabric shopping bags, raincoats ... I'm always open to new ideas about structural design.
4. Victor and Art
Q What are your thoughts about the artistic values of your work? What is your new message to the world? Who is your audience today: folders, art lovers, both or none?
A I show my models mainly in exhibitions. I don’t publish much on social media; usually the actual shape of the model can’t be summarized in pictures.
Sometimes, I try to copy natural shapes that amaze me, like branches, seashells or radiolaria. I usually try to represent not only the outer appearance but also the inner structures. Sometimes, I ask the first few folds in the paper and they give me beautiful answers backed by geometry.
Sometimes, I play so long with a paper that it ends up turning into a model, just as if we gave infinite papers to infinite monkeys, at least one good, proper origami design would appear.
5. The Process
Q How do you create?
A Sometimes, I create as a sport, a challenge in which I follow the rules of origami. Sometimes, I just explore new techniques without thinking a lot about the norms or the result. Sometimes, I have a precise idea in mind from the start. Sometimes, I let the paper lead, which results in organic and unexpected patterns. Although I respect traditional origami rules, I also explore cuts, glue and other materials when the idea calls for it. For me, the joy is mostly in the process, and usually, the more I enjoy it, the better the result.
6. Your Materials
Q Is paper sufficient for you? Have you explored new materials? And if paper is all you need, what is your current favorite?
A My favorite material is still thin white tissue paper, not for how it looks, but because it’s perfect for experimenting and testing ideas. It allows me to explore new techniques and practice complex or crumpled models with ease. At work, I also enjoy using unusual materials like flexible mirrors, transparent plastic, thick cardboard and magnetic sheets. Having access to these industrial leftovers inspires playful exploration. Each material teaches me something different about folding, texture and structure.
7. Your Message
Q Please tell us what your new message to the world is.
A Living most of my life with origami in mind makes me internalize it in unexpected ways. One can go crazy and start thinking that the universe is a sort of origami in which everything is connected, constantly changing and ruled by geometric laws. Even the senses could be considered as specializations of the sense of touch. Our eyes see in braille, as if we had a tactile screen in each eye. We also hear in Morse code and interpret all those folds as colors or sounds, but they are fundamentally shapes, as if infrareds were ultrasounds.
The universe is not a modular; it is tessellations over tessellations over tessellations.
8. Your One Model
Q Do you have a new favorite? Which model has stood the flow of time and still represents you?
A My favorite model is Urania, for which I have a special love. In Greek mythology, she’s the muse of geometry, and to me, the goddess of origami. The folding process is especially enjoyable. Unlike most models where the structure comes first, Urania takes shape as I fold, with posture and clothing decided midway. This open process invites play and improvisation, letting me spend a long time exploring a single paper. It’s a model that teaches me beautiful geometric insights and truly represents how I see origami today.
9. The Question I Didn’t Ask …
Q Is there one last question I should have asked? Ask it yourself, but don’t answer. Just let us know what the question is.
A Now, society is starting to consider origami in art and science. How will origami be seen in 10 years?
About Victor Coeurjoly
| Víctor Coeurjoly |
| Age: 32 |
| Place of residence: Dublin, Ireland |
| Education: Aeronautic designer, superior technician degree |
| Profession: Structural designer |
| Place of work: P+D |
| Profession: Structural designer |
| Origami exhibitions and publications: Conference speaker in scientific congresses, international collaborative and solo exhibitions, convention guest in Spain, France, Colombia, Morocco, and Italy. |