A paper-cutting artist is raising environmental awareness with his contemporary take on the traditional craft.
High up in Taiwan’s picturesque mountains this past spring, June June Wei (魏少君) felt a thrill of inspiration as he suddenly found himself face-to-face with a bright-eyed flying squirrel. The encounter occurred while the paper-cutting artist was hiking with friends at Dasyueshan National Forest Recreation Area in the central city of Taichung. “Immersing myself in the mountains and seeing the thriving wildlife there with my own eyes energizes me and provides nourishment for my creation,” Wei said as he mused about how to craft the animal he had run into at an elevation of 2,500 meters.
An owl cutout by June June Wei, with its shadow image projected on the wall behind it, features in the Taiwan-Japan Paper-Cutting Exchange Exhibition at Siao-Long Cultural Park in Tainan City, southern Taiwan. (Photo courtesy of June June Wei)
The squirrel is one of many species from Taiwan and around the world that have captured Wei’s imagination. For the artist, all wild creatures serve as a metaphor for human life. An owl, for instance, featured in last year’s Taiwan-Japan Paper-Cutting Exchange Exhibition, which showcased works by Wei and 22 other artists from the two countries at Siao-Long Cultural Park in the southern city of Tainan. The nocturnal bird’s image, with its shadow projected large on the wall behind it, symbolizes seeing facts through a facade of illusion. Cutouts of other animals in the show including a rhinoceros, sea turtle and whale offered visitors lively depictions with an innocent, childlike touch while providing an inspirational reminder of the importance of preserving the natural environment and biodiversity.
Wei’s pieces shown at SLCP provide an inspirational reminder of the importance of preserving the natural environment and biodiversity. (Photo courtesy of June June Wei)
Wei taught himself the craft of paper cutting through books and the internet in the early 2010s after gaining a doctoral degree in political economy from the Department of Sociology at Taichung-based Tunghai University (THU). “After many years of devotion to academic work, I wanted to test my potential to become a professional artist,” he said, explaining that he viewed this aspiration as an extension of his childhood interest in reading and drawing comics. “It’s like you’re finally doing something you’ve always wanted to do but never got around to.” According to Wei, his sociology background has also helped him artistically because it expanded his awareness of societal concerns and the plight of animals imperiled by human activities. He now teaches economic sociology at THU’s Center for General Education and holds a similar adjunct position at Feng Chia University, also located in Taichung.
New Directions
In his passion for the long-established art form, Wei has chosen to diverge from the traditional type of red paper cuttings that commonly adorn houses and shops as part of Lunar New Year celebrations. Instead, he describes his work as a mixture of Eastern elements and Western motifs and styles. Among his preferred subject matter are protected and endangered animals, with a recent focus on those native to Taiwan such as the Formosan black bear and a variety of birds. The country boasts one of the world’s highest densities of bird species, providing a habitat for more than 660 varieties, of which more than 80 are endemic, according to data compiled by the Taipei City-based Taiwan Wild Bird Federation. “There’s a ton of material out there, including illustrated books and online photos, that allows me to study my intended subject in great detail,” Wei said.
An elaborate foliage and floral cutout is representative of Wei’s focus on nature in his art. (Photo courtesy of June June Wei)
The artist is a firm believer in the idea that practice makes perfect. As he develops new techniques and hones his skills, Wei has been increasingly recognized for his masterful use of paper cutting pens to produce complex designs measuring more than one meter in height and width. His recent work “Tree of Life,” for example, features a number of animal shapes including bats, elephants, frogs, lions, monkeys, owls, rabbits, tigers and whales arranged amid intricate foliage and floral patterns. “I have to sit on the floor in my house to make such pieces because my desk isn’t big enough,” he said. “Sometimes it feels like I’m doing yoga as I twist my body to reach different parts of the paper.”
In addition to scaling up the size of his artwork, Wei has begun taking his compositions to the next level by incorporating 3D effects via carefully placed lighting. Such works were showcased at the Tainan show and at Taichung’s National Museum of Natural Science to celebrate the opening of a science-themed art gallery in 2018. The intriguing development was inspired by earlier exhibits at the International Bodhisattva Sangha (IBS) temple complex in Taichung, where sunshine passed through the paper cuttings and cast unexpectedly vivid shadows on an earthen wall. “The light added another dimension to what was originally a flat piece,” the artist recalled.
Wei stands beside his piece entitled “Tree of Life,” left. (Photo courtesy of June June Wei)
Beyond Aesthetics
Wei’s exquisitely detailed creations have attracted the attention of the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture’s Forestry Bureau (FB). In recent years, the lead body overseeing Taiwan’s ecological conservation efforts has been looking to raise social awareness of the country’s natural environment and biodiversity through creative promotional works such as films, picture books and hand-drawn calendars with local animal and plant themes. The wildlife imagery of Wei’s paper cuttings make them a perfect candidate to help foster an ecologically minded outlook among the public. Relevant cooperative programs are currently in the works.
Pangolins are among the endangered animals spotlighted in Wei’s work. (Photo courtesy of June June Wei)
For his part, Wei is thrilled to see his art add to a growing pool of educational materials enhancing curiosity about local ecosystems. The otter and grass owl featured in recent cuttings are endangered species targeted under the FB’s Payment for Ecosystem Services project that commenced in 2021. In contrast to forest-dwelling owls, the grass owl lives in plains areas and faces greater threat from habitat damage caused by herbicides and ingestion of poisons like raticides, which is why the initiative rewards farmers who forego use of such toxic chemicals. “Every concrete conservation action means a greater chance for wildlife to have a safe home in today’s world,” Wei said.
Educational endeavors are a major part of the artist’s approach to promoting the traditional craft and its modern applications. He often leads guided tours of his own exhibitions. “I love in-person interactions where creators can directly answer questions on why they did this and how they did that,” he said. He has also been invited to deliver lectures and share his expertise at IBS and locations like the Central Bookstore in Taichung. Established in 1927 during the Japanese colonial era (1895-1945), the renovated bookstore has hosted a range of cultural activities since reopening in 2020. In a class held there during Lunar New Year, Wei taught participants how to make a cutting of the year’s zodiac animal.
A piece by Wei is showcased in a science-themed art gallery at Taichung’s National Museum of Natural Science. (Photo courtesy of June June Wei)
After a decade of experimenting with paper cutting techniques and styles, Wei now splits his time between teaching and actualizing his artistic visions. “It’s sort of like alternating between sense and sensibility,” he said, referring to the duality of both his schedule and way of thinking. “Everyone looks at the world differently due to their personal frame of reference.” The artist and scholar is applying his unique perspective to his depictions of wildlife, with the wide-eyed stare of animals like the Dasyueshan squirrel continuing to shine in his mind’s eye.
Write to Pat Gao at cjkao@mofa.gov.tw