Wald aus Wald by Takashi Kuribayashi

A fairytale forest crafted from paper is a homage to nature, floating airlessly above a gallery floor in Hong Kong.

The Wald aus Wald installation resembles a giant cloud as it hovers above visitors, with intermittent head-sized holes for viewing. 

Peering up through the forest floor, guests can see the exhibit from the perspective of an insect, says Japanese artist Takashi Kuribayashi. Pristine white, the trees are ghostly empty except for the heads of viewers popping in and out like beetles beneath the soil.

'This poetic white artwork is, however, filled with ironic meaning,' explains the curatorial team at the Hong Kong Art Centre, where the exhibit can be seen until 29 January, 2012.

The reference to irony refers to the exhibition’s depiction of trees constructed entirely from paper products. They are made from a combination of kozo, a type of mulberry tree, and mitsumata, a paper bush.

Modeled to resemble larch trees of Yamagata, Japan, the installation is part of theVision of Nature: Lost & Found in Asian Contemporary Art exhibition that’s celebrating nature and its connection to art.