Saya Irie Transforms Eraser Shavings into Intricate Bird Sculptures
Japanese artist Saya Irie creates detailed bird sculptures from eraser shavings in her series 'Indiana Bird Dust' and 'Bird Dust.' She sources material by erasing printed images from old books, such as a vintage nature illustration of American mid-west birds, then uses the colorful residue to rebuild three-dimensional birds. The sculptures incorporate subtle changes in pose or added elements like berries. Irie describes the process as destruction and recreation, giving images new physical life. Her work will be featured in the 2027 Women to Watch exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, D.C., from April 9 to August 15, 2027.
Key facts
- Saya Irie uses eraser shavings as primary material for bird sculptures.
- Series include 'Indiana Bird Dust' (2024) and 'Bird Dust' (2025).
- She erases 2D images from books and rebuilds them as 3D sculptures.
- Materials include illustrated book pages, eraser shavings, resin clay, polymer clay.
- Subtle changes are made to poses or addition of berries and leaves.
- Irie's work is part of the 2027 Women to Watch at NMWA.
- Exhibition runs April 9 to August 15, 2027 in Washington, D.C.
- The project explores destruction and recreation of images.
Entities
Artists
- Saya Irie
Institutions
- National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA)
Locations
- Washington, D.C.
- United States