Kengo Kuma’s ‘Paper Clouds’ in London is a ‘poem’ celebrating washi paper in construction
Vicky Richardson | Wallpaper | 24th June 2025
One of the notable exhibits at this year’s London Design Biennale was a Japanese work comprising hanging panels of washi paper. At one level the ethereal work suggested “sunlight breaking through clouds”, where the washi clouds “hovered between visibility and dissolution”. Besides being a sculpture, though, it was also an ode to washi, the paper with personality. Made with fibre from shrubs rather than trees, it is strong, light, textured, reusable and, most of all, poetic.