Young Egyptian Architect Transforms Origami Art Into Unique Paper Sculptures

“It was a dream come true to create the largest [paper] sculpture in Egypt,” Jimmy tells Egyptian Streets. With a height of 188 cm, depth of 150 cm, and width of 70 cm, the largest deer sculpture in Egypt, made only from paper, stood tall in a Mobilia by the Sea event in Marassi last month.

 

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Mohamed Gamal Hussein, known as Jimmi Gami due to his passion for origami art, is a self-taught award-winning papercraft designer transforming origami art into customized paper sculptures.

Ten years ago, Jimmy discovered his profound love for origami after his school classmate introduced the art to him in the form of a ninja star made from origami paper. After attempting several hobbies, he found his passion in origami explaining that it filled a void in his life.

 

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Inspired by origami artists in South America, Europe, and China, Jimmy spent hours on YouTube, and made multiple trials using newspaper, magazine paper, aiming to master the art. He began experimenting with different paper types and tools, to teach himself and develop his skills. Being an architecture student also helped him in his passion towards origami as his projects were mostly done using maquettes.

 

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According to Jimmy, the least amount of time for one sculpture to be complete is five hours. With a starting price of EGP 400, his pieces are generally sold and used for interior and exterior design as an aesthetic element.

 

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The 24-year-old Egyptian artist took part in many exhibitions showcasing his work, including ElBeit Magazine’s exhibition where he came in second place among the top 60 talents, in addition to a cultural exhibition attended by artists and ambassadors at the house of the Colombian ambassador in Egypt.

To give back to the community, Jimmy creates tutorials and shares them on his YouTube channel to teach art enthusiasts about this art form and spread awareness on it.

“Art is more than just painting! I’d love to see more interest in advanced arts such as origami and paper sculptures,” Jimmy says.

 

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