Paper Magician - Master Hung Hsin-Fu

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Hung Hsin-Fu creates life out of thin paper. Over the years, the Taiwanese national treasure has been invited to Vancouver by the Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Society on multiple occasions, including the International Children’s Festival. Deftly wielding a pair of scissors, Hung is able to snip out dragonflies and sycamore flowers within seconds. In 2023, the paper magician will once again wow Canadian kids and adults alike through the Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Festival’s virtual program.

In university, Hung was extremely popular. He dedicated much time to the Folk Art Club, which quickly transformed into an origami hobby group under his leadership. Aside from organizing folk art events for students and community members, Hung also hosted exhibitions every semester to showcase the latest paper art. Even the Ministry of Culture caught wind of the devoted artisan and invited Hung, the youngest of all guests, to appear on its live program.

Every year, municipal governments in Taiwan distribute free lanterns to the public in the days leading up to the Lantern Festival. In the beginning, those plastic lanterns were powered by batteries. Today, all lanterns are made of recyclable synthetic paper and LED light bulbs free of mercury. Starting in 1994, one-thirds of the lanterns given out by the municipal governments were designed by Hung with easy-to-follow DIY instructions. 

As an artist, Hung believes the joy of papercraft should be free for all. Therefore, he made his unique design patterns and production processes an open-source code. Inspired by the traditional binding method for Buddhist texts, Hung is also the patent holder for a specialized binding technique for 3D books. In 2013, Hung united more than 200 high school students to bind together 148 handwritten cards that totalled at 106 meters. This culmination of his invention made history as the world’s longest 3D book in Guinness World Records.

To date, the paper artist, businessman, and inventor has shared his love for papercraft and Taiwanese ecology to audiences in metropolitans like New York, Paris, Berlin, Munich, and Moscow. His next stop? Vancouver. Don’t miss out Hung’s nature-inspired paper art that is sure to impress.