Kiva Bank, Contributing Photographer

On Saturday, Nov. 16, students left the Asian American Cultural Center, or AACC, with paper sailboats, jumping frogs and Thanksgiving-themed turkeys. 

At the center, Sok Song ART ’26, an MFA student at the Yale School of Art and a renowned origami artist, led an origami workshop. As he demonstrated for audiences how to fold paper swans and boxes, Song spoke of his path to the Yale School of Art and explained his art practice, heavily rooted in his Korean heritage and identity as a first-generation immigrant. 

“I like the fact that origami and paper folding utilizes a two-dimensional square piece of paper and you are able to transform it into a three-dimensional object, whether it’s a geometric shape or a representation of an animal or different figures,” Song said. 

Song spent 20 years in New York City, where he learned about traditional origami practices while also creating his own designs. He also published books and periodicals on instructional origami and was commissioned by prominent institutions such as the American Museum of Natural History. One of his most notable pieces was a 15-foot holiday tree composed of over 400 origami figures and created in collaboration with the organization Origami U.S.A. 

After the pandemic, however, Song decided to finish his bachelor’s degree to pursue an MFA and expand his origami practice into other art mediums. Since then, he has experimented with print-making, ceramics, sculpture and painting.   

To some, origami is a simple process of folding paper. To Song, it’s far more than that. 

“When I was thinking about my MFA applications and also my exploration of folding with other mediums, I was trying to layer in ideas of identity, ideas of gender and ideas of political implications of militarization,” said Song. 

Born in Korea, Song immigrated to the U.S. with his family when he was 8 years old. Multiple members of Song’s family married American military men stationed in Korea after the Korean War. Song spent his upbringing living in military bases in the U.S., which were composed of large immigrant communities.  

A recent project of his uses his parents’ dry cleaning business, located outside a military base, as inspiration. The project prints images of garments onto dry-cleaning plastics, highlighting the consumerism and waste generated by an American military dependent on immigrant labor. These dark prints contrast the bright “We [heart] our customers” signs on the hangers holding the dry-cleaning plastics. 

This work is currently on display at the first-year MFA student showcase until Dec. 15. 

“These are the ghostly imprints of personalities and communities and the influences I’ve had growing up, and also the influences I see in militarization and current events, tying the wars and tying border conflict together, as well as what’s happening with migrants and immigration in this country,” said Sok. 

This year, Song has partnered with the AACC for his fellowship with the Yale Center for Collaborative Arts and Media, or CCAM, which bridges the arts and technology. People visiting Song’s “Origami Vending Machine” can insert paper and select a shape they want folded. Within 30 seconds, the machine spits out a folded origami piece. 

During his workshop this Saturday, Song shared a hidden insight about the project: he will be hidden inside the machine but folding the origami that is dispensed to viewers. 

“This particular project has to do with hidden labor, particularly hidden migrant labor. People get this origami and they’re really happy to get a free piece of origami, and they think a machine made it,” Song said. “They don’t see the hands that make the object.”

The Origami Vending Machine’s initial launch will take place at the Delaware Contemporary Museum in December before it premieres at Yale and is exhibited at the CCAM ISOVIST Gallery in April. Through the project’s focus on migrant labor, he aims to bring to light the hidden exploitation that often accompanies fast fashion practices and consumerism more generally. 

Song is no stranger to leading origami workshops — he has facilitated tutorials worldwide for the past 20 years. 

While explaining the art of origami to visitors, Song was also checking in on individuals’ works. He carefully explained the different types of fold traditionally used in origami, including the valley fold, mountain fold, book fold, cupboard fold, and the RAT or “right about there” fold. 

“Sok is just so great at explaining every single step,” Laura Capriles ART ’27 said.

Song told participants that looking at a neighbor to see if they’re doing the right thing is not cheating. He emphasized that it’s a community effort, and people should help each other.

The audience audibly gasped when what was once flat paper transformed into 3D creations of swans, sailboats and turkeys. Participants also created boxes in which they could carry their origamis home. Song called this moment the “origami wow” moment. 

For some, including Yuna Cho ART ’26, the workshop was nostalgic as she recalled the origami she created as an elementary school student back in Korea. 

“I just felt like I was back to being a little kid again,” Cho said. “It was really nice, like a nostalgic kind of activity. I really enjoyed that.”

Cho and Capriles study at the School of Art alongside Song. This time, however, they learned from Song. 

The two artists expressed excitement about finding parallels between origami and other art forms. Origami’s three-dimensional aspect could help Cho create other works, she said.

“It would be a quick way to do like a sketch or like a mock-up for sculptures,” she said, although she added that she would have to take more of Song’s classes to learn how to do that. 

Song encouraged all participants to learn more about his work and visit his studio, located next door to the AACC. 

The AACC is located at 295 Crown St.