The Magic of Cardboard – Artist Spotlight

Here at Pactivate we’re pretty passionate about cardboard. Why? It’s recyclable, biodegradable and incredibly versatile. All-in-all a fantastic packaging material.
Today though we’re focusing on the application of cardboard sculptures for art, rather than packaging, as we’ve stumbled across some incredible artists we just had to share!

Daniel Agdag: “Sets for a film I’ll never make”

Daniel Agdag is an artist and filmmaker based in Melbourne. He openly favours cardboard as his primary medium due to its “utilitarian origins and monochromatic presentation”. He is principally recognised for his highly detailed cardboard sculptures, like the ones pictured above from his “Sets for a film I’ll never make” collection. To find out more about Daniel Agdag and his work you can visit his website here.

Warren King: Ancestral Villagers

Warren King is an American artist, also known more recently for his sculpting with cardboard. The sculptures above are from his ongoing collection of villagers, inspired by a trip to his ancestral home in China. The forms are abstracted to provide a relatively simple, yet highly effective visual outcome, with the intention for him to gain a deeper understanding of the village residents with each new addition to the collection. For more on Warren King and his work, you can visit his website here.

Wayne White: Cardboard Puppetry

Wayne White is an Emmy-winning American artist, art director, illustrator and puppeteer. He has worked with a variety of mediums, but has professed his love for cardboard due to its hard aesthetic and “tendency to do awkward things”, which suits his rugged and brash art identity. He is most recognised for his set work on “Peewee’s Playhouse” and his eccentric puppets and large installations more recently. Want to know more about Wayne White and his work? You can visit his website here.

Greg Olijnyk: Functional Robots

Greg Olijnyk is a graphic designer by trade and based in Melbourne, Australia. His cardboard sculptures pictured above is what he calls his “way to contrast his daily digital work”, and has been getting recognition for a few years now. Inspired by science-fiction, he told Colossal Blog in an interview about his “fascination with mechanical shapes, girders and, of course, robots, resulting in original works that hopefully, tell a bit of a story”. Many of his pieces have movable parts, fitted lights and other robotic elements such as motors. We couldn’t find a website for Greg Olijnyk, but you can check out his Instagram page here.

What do you think of these artists and their cardboard creations? Did we miss someone you think deserves a mention?

Maybe you have a cardboard packaging project that requires some professional assistance? Get in touch to see how we can help.