DE · GERMANY
Geldgeschenk
The gift of folded money
Birthdays, weddings, housewarmings: a banknote rarely arrives flat. It comes folded into a shirt, a heart, a boat or a fish — playful wrapping that turns cash into a small sculpture.
ORIGAMI MONEY
NEW SERIES · 2026 — お金の折り紙 · GEFALTETES GELD
156 × 66 mm of cotton paper. Worth exactly one dollar. Scroll to fold it.
In Germany, I have often received money folded into a shirt, a heart, a fish.
In Japan, New Year money is gifted folded, tucked into small decorative envelopes that often resemble origami.
As the gap between the rich and the average person grows, money becomes so worthless it can be used as paper for folding.
For billionaires, a toy to play with. For everyone else, the vital necessity of everyday struggle.
SCROLL TO FOLD
折 — ON THE SERIES
Origami made the connection between my Japan and my Germany — in both, folding is part of gift-giving.
My newest work focuses on a multi-faceted concept of origami and money in a currently challenging socio-economic climate. It bridges a unique gap between my personal cross-cultural experience of Japan and Germany, and acts as the symbol for the Zeitgeist.
In Germany, I have often received money folded in various origami forms as part of fun and whimsical gift-wrapping. At the same time, there is the tradition of Otoshidama in Japan, where money is gifted, folded and put into small decorative envelopes, often resembling origami figures.
There is also a deeper meaning behind using money as simple paper in the current economic climate of growing income inequality. This series captures the zeitgeist of our time — the struggles of millennial and Gen Z generations in many countries.
贈 — TWO GIFT CULTURES
Hamburg to Tokyo, one fold
JP · JAPAN
お年玉 Otoshidama
New Year money, folded
At New Year, money is gifted folded and slipped into pochi-bukuro — small decorative envelopes, often resembling origami figures themselves.
時 — ZEITGEIST
When the income gap grows, money becomes paper.
Symbolism
So devalued that it becomes ornament — paper for folding.
Toy
The attitude of billionaires: money as something to play with.
Necessity
For millennials and Gen Z in many countries: the everyday struggle.
円 € $ ֏ — THE ARTWORKS
Banknotes of the world, folded & painted
Every painting in the series depicts an origami figure folded from a different currency note. The first two folds are finished — more notes are on the easel.
FROM “JAPAN MEMORIES” — SEVEN ORIGAMI CRANES
鶴 — SKETCHBOOK & THOUGHT PROCESS
From cranes to currency
While working on The Impermanence of Memory, I folded many origami cranes and other figures as references for drawings. Back from Japan, I sorted my reference photos into categories — origami, lanterns, storefronts, kimonos.
Cranes became the symbol of that whole project: in my Instagram feed, as decoration, and eventually on the certificates of the artworks themselves.
Even after the series was finished, the origami figures lingered in my head — until I realised they were the bridge between my experiences in Japan and Germany.
VISIT JAPAN MEMORIES →UNFOLD
It was only paper
all along.
Originals, studio visits and upcoming exhibitions of Origami Money.
Ask about the series →EXHIBITIONS — TO BE ANNOUNCED