Yoshihiro Watanabe

Yoshihiro Watanabe (b.1989) would spend his childhood days out in the fields and hills seeking out and observing exotic insect life. His interest in the natural world expanded to include sea life, life in the rivers, life in the skies and the prehistoric life of dinosaurs. From there, he developed an interest in recreating the objects of his fascination in clay and paper. Given any piece of paper, even a gum wrapper, the young Watanabe would start folding it into the shape of some living creature. In his first year of junior high school, his mother found him sitting under an oak tree folding a leaf into the shape of an animal. This was the birth of Oriha (meaning folded leaves in Japanese.) Watanabe had difficulty with verbal communication and was first diagnosed with autism when he was two. “Mitekudasai” (look at this) is one of his favourite things to say. He considers paper cutting and leaf folding his work, and he gets motivated when people enjoy what he makes. He often communicates through pictures, writing and gestures and feels a kind of comfort by creating speechless creatures. In 2002 Watanabe featured in the opening exhibition ‘Attitude’ at the Contemporary Art Museum Kumamoto, alongside artists like Marina Abramović and Yayoi Kusama. This was after the then Director saw his work in a local post office whilst he was at a special educational needs school.

There is no preliminary design, sketch or blue print to his folding techniques. No glue or tape is used either. Just the simple act of folding creates these representations of the natural world that are brimming with life and movement. Watanabe will only create Oriha with oak leaves and every year in the early autumn, he searches for recently fallen oak leaves in the nearby mountains. Oriha requires oak leaves that have just the right level of slight decay and moisture, and only Watanabe and his senses can detect that. If the leaf is too dry, it turns brittle and cracks when folded or breaks apart later. If the leaf has too much moisture, it will not stay folded and will try to return to its original shape. He picks each leaf and examines it, gauging its size and foldability, discarding any that do not take his fancy. This is a very important part of the process for Watanabe.

2024 171 RWA Open Exhibition, Royal West of England Academy (RWA), Bristol
2024 Ikigai, Dr. Guislain Museum, Belgium
2023 Manchester Contemporary Art Fair, Manchester Central
2023 Aux Frontières de l’art brut, Halle Saint Pierre, Paris
2023 Why We Linger, Darbyshire, London
2023 Outsider Art Fair, Metropolitan Pavilion, New York
2022 For the love of art, Museum van der Geest, Amsterdam
2021 Toridori no Art, VR Art Gallery, Fukushima Minyu Shimbun, Japan
2020 Arugamama no Art: Hitoshirezu Hyogen Shitsuzukeru Monotachi, University Art Museum, Tokyo
2019 Art Brut-ten: Hibikiau Kodomo-gokoro, Shinagawa ku Shogaijisha Sogo Shien Shisetsu, Tokyo
2018 Art Brut Japonais II, Halle Saint Pierre, Paris
2017 Museum of Together, Sprial Garden, Tokyo
2015 Nokemono Animal: Kimi to Ikuru, Hajimari Art Center, Fukushima
2002 Attitude, Contemporary Art Museum Kumamoto, Japan