The minimalistic “black on black” portrait was envisioned and shot by Dasha Pears in Helsinki, Finland, then developed, edited, and printed on Hahnemühle Bamboo FineArt paper to be sent to San Francisco for the next phase of creating the piece.

Paula Pietranera finished the piece by adding 348 origami cranes folded from a single sheet of special paper.

The cranes are white, in contrast with the black skin, clothes, and background of the portrait, to symbolize the balance of opposites in life, which in union comprise what we experience every day.

The piece is signed by both artists.

Currently the piece is framed without a glass in a simple black wooden frame to display the beauty and interplay of paper textures.

A woman with dark curly hair wearing a large white hat made of origami cranes.

A woman is working on a large poster with a portrait of a woman with curly hair. She is holding a tool, possibly a hot glue gun, and appears to be attaching or adjusting white origami or paper flowers on the poster.

Close-up of a book cover titled 'Dasha Pears Play' with a textured white strip along the top edge, placed on a black surface.

Watch the video to observe how the application of the origami art was done.

Blooming North