From Fire to Form

In the heart of Oakland, amidst the vibrant pulse of creativity, artist Martin Taylor's metal origami sculptures come to life, each a testament to his meticulous craftsmanship and imaginative spirit. With a keen eye for detail, he captures the whimsical essence of his subjects through carefully crafted geometric facets, infusing them with a playful energy that dances in the light.

From dancing foxes to flying sea turtles and prowling jaguars, each piece reflects Martin's fascination with geometric interpretations of the natural world.

Martin's journey into the world of metal origami began during his tenure as a hardware prototyping engineer at Apple. It was there that he first became intrigued by the idea of employing origami techniques to swiftly fashion structures from flat, laser-cut parts. Drawing inspiration from this innovative approach, Martin developed his metal origami techniques, enabling him to translate intricate contemporary forms into metal with the same effortless elegance as traditional paper folding.

The ZOA

“Contemporary art primarily resides inside galleries which are highly controlled environments. Part of what makes my art different is that it is designed to travel and interact with different environments and groups of people. The Zoa (which is 5m tall) has been installed in the Australian outback, near an alligator-filled lake in Florida, in snow-swept Toronto and Tahoe, and inside in a few different galleries and museums. Everywhere it travels is a slightly different experience and it reflects light in different ways,” says Martin.

Big On Gesture & Big In Proportion

From the depths of his artistic vision, there has always been a yearning to create pieces that transcend the confines of gallery walls and embrace the vastness of public spaces. In these open arenas, scale becomes a powerful ally, effortlessly signalling the presence of art amidst the bustling world around it.

For Martin, the allure of crafting large-scale artworks lies not only in their visual impact but also in the sense of wonder they evoke as they journey from one location to another. The mere notion of their arrival prompts whispered inquiries and curious glances—how did such monumental creations find their way here?

It is this enchanting narrative that has led Martin to explore the realm of inflatable art. With each billowing form, he seeks to ignite the imagination and invite viewers on a whimsical journey, where the boundaries between art and reality blur, and the extraordinary becomes possible.