above: Constellation Steffan, Wood panel, brads, single sewing thread
Japanese artist Kumi Yamashita, who now lives and works in New York, has been featured on several design sites for her amazing Origami Light and Shadow project (shown below) in which Japanese paper and creased and mounted on the wall to give off a shadow that emulates a human face profile.
above: Kumi Yamashita, Origami, Light and Shadow
Kumi Yamashita Thread Portraits
above: Constellation Mana (detail), 2011
Lesser known, but equally as impressive as her origami portraits, are her ongoing thread portraits. The Constellation series are portraits made by winding a single UNBROKEN black thread around nails hammered into a board to create the uncanny likeness of a face.
Constellation – Erik:, 2007, H46, W36, D3cm, Wood panel, brads, single sewing thread:
Constellation Mana, 2011, H40, W30, D3cm, Wood panel, brads, single sewing thread:
Constellation – Cy, 2011, H46, W36, D2cm, Wood panel, brads, single sewing thread (Private collection):
Unknown title, year:
See more of her work here at her website.