News: Origami X-Ray Skeletons of Endangered Animals

The ancient craft of origami gets an update in Oritsunagumono, where environmentalism meets photoelectricity for the first time. Its name translates into "things folded and connected," and its agenda aims to bring awareness of the environmental impact of pollution to native marine wildlife in Japan's coastal waterways.

Takayuki Hori's origami works won first place in the 2010 Mitsubishi Chemical Junior Designer Competition for his ingenious portrayal of eight endangered species consumed by human rubbish. The animal skeletons (waterfowl, sea turtle, etc.) are delicately printed on transparent sheets and intricately folded into three-dimensional x-ray representations.

The only color comes from the swallowed trash rotting inside the bellies of the birds and reptiles (a syringe being the most poignant piece of garbage). It's an obvious reminder of life's fragility, bound by a wonderful array of skeletonized origami. Horribly beautiful? Quite possibly.