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Joel Cooper is an and origami artist specializing in tessellation techniques, and paper mask designs in particular.
Each of his pieces is constructed from a single sheet of paper. Parallel folds make pleats that open up to form the contours of the face and intersect with each other around the face. Where they intersect, twist folds are formed on the back of the piece which help to keep the pleats closed.
The pleats are tightly packed together, and where they run parallel the space between them looks like an individual strip of paper from the front. Where twist folds occur on the back, it appears that the “strips” of paper are crossing under and over one another, creating a basket-weave effect.
Cooper describes his process as consisting largely of trial and error. His inspiration comes from other origami artists as well as two-dimensional work, such as patterns in Islamic art.
He also works as a librarian.
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