Kuniko Maeda seeks to explore the connections between nature and humans through the use of specific materials and anthropomorphic forms. She works with paper, often recycled, because of its many common uses, its easy availability and its unappreciated nature. Paper also has an adaptability and elasticity when set within a variety of configurations. Her practice is rooted in material processes, influenced and informed by her subject specialism in sustainable textile design and Japanese traditional woodcarving. By exploring the possibility of materials and their unique properties, Maeda allows the materials to speak and embraces natural formed abstraction. The idea of ‘life cycles’ in Japanese culture and religion are an inspiration, with further influences coming from Western models of explorations of materiality, consumerism and the everyday, such as the Arts and Crafts Movement.