Tomohisa Iwai transforms corrugated cardboard into highly articulated three-dimensional forms, treating an inexpensive and familiar material as a precise medium for sculpture and design. His practice combines carefully cut flat panels to construct full-scale helmets, masks, armor, and other complex structures, preserving the material’s layered edges and seams as visible elements of the finished surfaces. The resulting forms have a distinctly geometric character, with angular contours that recall digitally modeled objects translated into physical space.
A defining aspect of Iwai’s approach is the connection between his physical craftsmanship and his work as a CG creator. Instead of concealing the construction process, he incorporates the logic of faceted 3D modeling into cardboard, turning individual planes into structural components and allowing the corrugation itself to contribute texture and visual rhythm. This dialogue between digital visualization and handmade construction gives his sculptures a technical precision while retaining the tactile evidence of cutting, folding, and assembly. His portfolio describes him as both a cardboard artist and CG creator, with projects extending into product design and commissioned creative work.
Iwai’s trajectory also reflects a sustained interest in making sophisticated forms through accessible physical processes. After receiving cardboard-art commissions from a television station and Disney in 2014, he became an independent creator in 2015 and continued developing work across cardboard art and computer graphics. His self-taught background further informs a practice centered on experimentation, fabrication, and problem-solving, while his projects demonstrate how an everyday packaging material can be pushed toward detailed sculptural construction. The tension between cardboard’s ordinary associations and the complexity of Iwai’s structures is central to the visual character of his work.
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