By Iryna Dzyubynska

An exhibit beginning Monday at UK will feature intricate origami based on mathematical science.

“Origami: The Art of Science and Mathematics” will display the work of Duk Lee, an associate professor of mathematics at Asbury College, in three UK libraries: the W.T. Young Library, the Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library and the Science Library in the M.I. King Library.

Origami is the traditional Japanese art of folding paper into decorative shapes without the use of glue or scissors.

The exhibit, which runs until May 1, features over 50 origami works, including geometric forms as well as animal, insect and plant figures, according to the exhibit’s Web site. The exhibit is presented by UK Libraries, in cooperation with UK’s Asia Center and the Japanese Culture in Kentucky Society.

Kazuko Hioki, a conservation librarian at UK Libraries, decided to bring the exhibition to UK after seeing Duk Lee’s work at an exhibition in Asbury a year ago.

“Lee’s artistic works amazed me. I was also very interested in the unique combination of science, mathematics and arts in his origami works,” Hioki said, “This is the first major exhibition of this type of origami works displayed in Kentucky.  This exhibition will blow your mind in beauty, creativity, and possibility of the paper arts.”

Lee started folding and studying origami as a tool to teach collage math, Hioki said. Lee’s works are inspired by internationally renowned origami scientists such as Robert J. Lang, Thomas Hull and Shuzo Fujimoto, according to the event Web site.

Public perception of origami is that it is a children’s pastime: making cranes, a jumping frog and a water bomb, Lee said.

“This exhibition gives a total new dimension of that old origami,” Lee said. “It would be simply mind-boggling to many of how pure folding without glue and cut can create such detailed representations of creatures, for example.”

In addition to the main exhibition, 1,000 paper cranes folded by students at Jessie Clark Middle School, Maxwell Elementary School and participants of “Cranes for Peace” workshops at Lexington Public Libraries will be on display to show their commitment to world peace, said Keiko Fukuzaki, a coordinator with the Japan Outreach Initiative. According to ancient Japanese legend, the cranes promise peace and long life to anyone who folds them.

The opening reception will take place on Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Gallery Room of the W.T. Young Library. A hands-on origami workshop is scheduled on Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Free Speech Area near the Student Center Patio. A lecture and hands-on workshop is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Gallery Room of the W.T. Young Library.

All events and exhibitions are free and open to the public. For more information, visit the event Web site, (www.uky.edu/Libraries/Origami/).