In tender paper collages, Kanako Abe conjures a whimsical woodland realm where giant wolves and tiny bunnies roam through a portal-like landscape. Each intricate cut transforms the paper into a canvas for untold stories, where imagination and reality entwine.

The artist’s latest project, The Paper Girl, published by Frances Lincoln Ltd., explores themes of self-assertion. The book’s protagonist learns to stand firm against others’ comments through the act of folding, symbolizing the transformative power of one’s own identity.

Abe’s work is set to debut in an ambitious curatorial endeavor at Giant Robot Gallery in January, as well as a group exhibition at Childhood’s End Gallery in Olympia, Washington, in April. Pre-order the book to receive a signed bookplate, a memento of this imaginative journey.