These delicate and intricate works of paper art are truly the next level of origami.

Kirie is the traditional Japanese art of cutting paper into elaborate designs, and while it takes a lot of time and effort to make a single piece, they can be downright beautiful when done properly.

Yet the ones created by kirie artist @kagemeenokirie are so complex that you’d assume they were made by machine and not by hand.

▼ Paper cutting on the highest difficulty setting.

From the little gaps between bricks to the complex lacey window topper, this fascinating piece is made even more incredible considering that it’s all cut from a single sheet of black paper.

▼ Just look at the fine lines on the clouds and tapestry patterns!

▼ Here’s a close-up view of her work.

Suspecting there’s a trick to the madness, we approached the artist and asked what type of paper was used in creating them, to which she replied that she merely used kirie paper: ordinary paper that’s colored black.

▼ But hey, she did use black origami paper for this cute circus cutout.

So her gorgeous works aren’t attributed to some kind of special source material, but all down to just a razor, patience and skill.

▼ Mind-blowing levels of skill might I add.

Japanese netizens collectively dropped their jaws when @kagemeenokirie announced an exhibition in Osaka showcasing her kirie pieces:

“Fantastic! I look at these every day I commute to work.”
“Wow, these are marvelous!”
“I’ll definitely go see your artwork.”
“These are great. I really respect you!”
“Thanks for all your hard work. They’re really gorgeous!”

Sure there are some stunning kirie works out there, but few match the complexity and sophistication demonstrated by @kagemeenokirie here.

Her exhibition has already ended, but judging by the positive response from attendees, hopefully it won’t be long before she launches into the next series of exciting paper cutouts.

Source, images: Twitter/@kagemeenokirie
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