The creator of all the tiny paper cut sculptures at The Paper Ark is Nayan, Born in Gandhinagar, Gujarat (India) and a furniture and interior design graduate from National Institute of Design (NID) Ahmedabad, India. He now works full-time as a paper cut artist. The straightforward yet complex organic structures found in nature have an influence on Nayan's art. You can observe how Nayan's art skillfully portrays the intricacies of nature in paper.
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ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
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2007 : Basic Animation course, Animaster,
Ahmedabad, India
2008 : B.Des in Furniture and Interior Design, National Institute of Design (NID)
Ahmedabad, India
Watercolour artist Venus Bird (earlier known as Vaishali) is also an avid birder hails from Ahmedabad, Gujarat (India). Her love of birds is evident in every piece she creates, which is inspired by captivating birds and their vibrant colours. Her work honours the vivid palette of nature and all living things. Venus holds a diploma in animation and visual effects, which broadens her skill set. The Paper Ark's miniature paper art is alive with her colours.
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ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
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2007 : Full time 2D animation course,
Animaster, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
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2010 : Full time 3D animation course,
Krazy pixel, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
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2013 : Full time Visual effects (VFX) course,
Sollywood, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
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2013 : Basic Photography course,
Sollywood, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
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Artist's journey
​Their collaborative efforts combine a passion for wildlife and paper art to create intriguing miniature paper sculptures. ​
Currently, Nayan and Venus reside in Ahmedabad, Gujarat (India)
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Nayan and Venus are most known for their 1000 Feather's project, a self-initiated endeavour to develop
1000 species of creatures over the period of 1000 days.
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Their work is represented in numerous esteemed publications and websites and has been exhibited in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Artist's statement
Our artistic collaboration, "The Paper Ark," formerly called NVillustration, strives to redefine paper as a material and use art as a means of educating people about our planet's unique biodiversity. We want to bring attention to how fragile everyone is through art and stories. To pique viewers' curiosity and encourage them to learn more about our wildlife, we took on the challenge of creating miniature, highly detailed birds, animals and all the beautiful beings found in the world.
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Mother Earth is our greatest motivator; we go birdwatching and exploring the wilderness around our city on a frequent basis. Every time we go out, we return with our minds full of amazing experiences and information, such as aiding Red Wattled Lapwing chicks to cross a road, releasing a turtle back into a river from a field, or witnessing a butterfly emerge from a pupa in the morning. And there is still so much to experience and see in nature that one lifetime will not suffice.
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We therefore hope to create a world that is more conscious of and knowledgeable about the wildlife they share the planet with by using the simple material paper as our medium and exploring the versatile characteristics of paper to create art which is inspired from our beloved wild beings.
Selected Shows
Group Shows
2023 (Group Show) "Small is Beautiful art", Brussels, Belgium
2023 (Group Show) "Small is Beautiful art", New York, USA
2022 (Group Show) "Small is Beautiful art", London, UK
2020 (Group Show) "Ten" at Paradigms gallery, Philadelphia, USA
2019 (Group Show) "Paper" at Paradigms gallery, Philadelphia, USA
Solo Shows
2021 (Solo Show) "Alluring Tweets" at Paradigms gallery, Philadelphia, USA
2019 (Solo Show) "Mini/Nature" at The Art gallery - Amdavad ni Gufa, Ahmedabad, India
2019 (Solo Display) at The Cornell lab of Ornithology, New York, USA
Making of Rufous-necked Laughingthrush
Clients
The Paper Ark team
Nayan
Forest
Snow
Flora
Venus
