David Mitchell's Origami Heaven - Modular Origami - Tate Modular
 
Tate Modular

A Selection of Modular Sculptures by David Mitchell

 
  4-Cubes is an elegant hexoid that can be viewed either as four cubes joined edge to edge or as a single large cube from which four smaller cube-shaped sections have been removed. The design is not only aesthetically pleasing but also particularly satisfying to fold and assemble.

Ref: M1030 / Diagrams not yet available.

     
     
  The Enigma Cube is a curious but attractive sculpture in the form of a cube surrounded by curved collars. Several modular methods are known but the 6-part version shown here, developed from Ed Sullivan's XYZ, is in many ways the most interesting, particularly in the way that the form continues to develop after the modules have been assembled.

Ref: M1005 / Diagrams can be found in Paper Crystals - David Mitchell - Water Trade 2000 - ISBN 0-9534774-2-8

     
     
  Andromeda is a good example of a sculptural form that is entirely derived from the paperfolding design process and so is unique to modular origami. The design combines two distinct elements - a twelve pointed star and a nolid octahedron - which are produced, from the same sheets of paper, using two quite distinct folding geometries.

Ref: M1001 / Diagrams can be found in Paper Crystals - David Mitchell - Water Trade 2000 - ISBN 0-9534774-2-8

     
     
  Curvaceous is made from two sets of modules, each of which is derived from an entirely different folding geometry. It is this mix of geometries which produces the gently 'curved' faces of the form. The two sets of modules are shown in separate colours in the picture.

Ref: M1029 / Diagrams not yet available.

     
     
  Proteus can be described as a 30-part pierced delta icosidodecahedron, but despite this verbal handicap it is one of the most beautiful of all modular origami sculptures.

Ref: M1002 / Diagrams can be found in Paper Crystals - David Mitchell - Water Trade 2000 - ISBN 0-9534774-2-8

     
     
  Electra 60 is a beautiful sculpture made by combining sixty Electra modules. The picture shows a five colour version but the sculpture is probably at its best when made from paper decorated with a random or organic design.

Ref: M1000 / Diagrams can be found in Paper Crystals - David Mitchell - Water Trade 2000 - ISBN 0-9534774-2-8.

     
     
  Cloud of Stars is a modular ball made up of twelve five-pointed stars. The tips of each star rest on the points of a (largely hidden) 20-point Stubby Star, which provides the foundation of the form. The sculpture is made from thirty compound modules (each of which is in turn composed of three modules).

Ref: M1007 / Diagrams for the original version can be founed in Paper Crystals - David Mitchell - Water Trade 2000 - ISBN 0-9534774-2-8. Revised version not yet diagrammed.

     
     
  This complex seeming sculpture, known as Darkstar, is in fact a simple hexoid. The modules are folded from silver rectangles using the natural folding geometry of the shape.The sculpture has narrow slits in the sides of the points where two raw edges of the paper meet and therefore works much better in black than in any other colour.

Ref: M1033 / Diagrams not yet available.

     
     
  Nexus is a macro-modular sculpture made by linking twenty Artifact macro-modules together with joining pieces to create a sculpture with intricate interior space. The design uses 240 modules in all. Nexus is best displayed hanging.

Ref: MA1010 / Diagrams not yet available.

     
     
  The Elite Hypercube is a complex macro-modular sculpture made by combining 20 Elite macro-modules using joining-pieces and requires 672 modules in all. The name relates to the fact that this sculpture exists in four dimensions - the normal three plus a great deal of time.

Ref: MA1008 / Diagrams can be found in Building with Butterflies - David Mitchell - Water Trade 1999 - ISBN 0-9534774-1-X.