141 SHADOW MAGIC

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SHADOW ART GENIUS

Kuronushi is a young Japanese artist who specializes in shadow art. He puts together hundreds of pieces of cardboard that, when lighted from different angles, project different picture shadows.

You have probably seen shadow art before: expertly arranged objects or hand positions that project certain shadow pictures. Almost anyone with hands can make a shadow bunny on the wall, but Kuronushi’s creations put such humble performances to shame.

He glues together hundreds of pieces of cardboard to create themed paper sculptures that create different shadow artwork when light is shined on them from different angles, but there is actually more to these strange-looking cardboard constructions.

When Kuronushi turns his complex creations, the shadows that they cast change into different but related portraits. For example, a scene inspired by the Wizarding World of Harry Potter features a shadow scene of a broom-riding Hogwarts student and a half-moon, but when the installation is turned to a different angle, it casts a detailed portrait of Harry Potter himself.

He has also brought to life Johnny Depp's popular character, Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. At first, the shadow seems to be a sailing ship. But, as the structure is rotated, it slowly turns into Captain Sparrow. As with the Hogwarts-Harry Potter construction, the first picture has an important connection to the second.

Believe it or not, Kuronushi is not a professional artist. He actually runs his own company and only creates art as a hobby.

He was inspired to experiment with shadow art after seeing the shadow of his toddler daughter that was projected on a wall on a sunny day. He noticed that her silhouette also sometimes resembled something else, so he decided to replicate the “magic” in the comfort of his own home, using cardboard and a lamp.

Kuronushi only started posting clips of his incredible shadow art on Instagram in September of this year, but he has already amassed a following of over 300,000, which is unsurprising, given his obvious talent.

Before shadow art, he posted some extremely good pen-drawn portraits, so he can truly be described as a multimedia artist.

For more of Kuronushi’s art, you can follow the 23-year-old artist on X (formerly, Twitter) and on Instagram.

© odditycentral.com

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