teps through the East have led Kendra Ezekiel to this point in her art. Miss Ezekiel is working on a large-scale installation using folded paper, which she said is a conceptual piece that takes inspiration from a Japanese origami tradition.

?Much of my work is inspired by Eastern art and culture,? she said, ?and this idea was a natural step to take.

?I have manipulated paper in the past by means of intuitively cutting, crumpling, twisting, stitching, embossing etc. to create my work, but this time I am following a standard origami model.

?The texture and colour of paper used as well as the overall scale and spatial composition will be my artistic input upon a traditional craft. This follows my interest in exploring and crossing the boundaries between art and craft.?

She has been working on her piece for over two months.

?It comprises of paper that I have made using an eastern technique and some that I have collected on my travels,? said Miss Ezekiel. ?Whenever, I visit a new place I try and find unique papers to add to my collection. I usually keep these as reference and for sheer appreciation.

?However, I decided to use some of this paper because of the vast amount of paper needed and also the themes of migration and transformation were applicable.?

This installation shares the simple tedium of the paper maze that she had on display last year in the Bermuda Society of Art?s invitational show with the crumpling, but this time folding, of huge amounts of small sheets of paper.

?Many, may ask why, but I find it quite meditative,? she said.

?With your hands doing the work, the mind becomes quiet. I believe the end result is a means for others to meditate and contemplate upon. ?Also, this work has commonalties with the public art piece ?Prayers in the Wind? that I did alongside the Bermuda National Gallery two years ago, when a thousand members of the public including five hundred school children participated by writing a prayer on a square sheet of white cloth that was suspended in the portico entrance of the City Hall building.?

Her piece consists of white and off-white squares again, she said.

?I had the help of family and friends with the folding. They each were given a quick lesson and a stack of paper!

?The concept is my artistic authority and in this case, the intent lends itself to sharing the effort. I think everyone who has helped has enjoyed doing so and is looking forward to the final display. I hope it doesn?t disappoint.?