Thinking outside the box

Showing off the first stage of one of his multi-layer artworks for the "Depth Defying" exhibition — part of the Dunedin Fringe Festival — is Raimo Kuparinen.

A cabinet maker by trade, Kuparinen said he created boxes which could be used to create the illusion of depth with tactically placed mirrors in the doorways and windows of the paintings.

To make the illusion work he had to line the inside of the artwork with figures and sculptures, some of which were even installed upside down so they would appear natural in the mirror.

He was inspired to create the works by a similar artist whose work he saw in Colorado in the 1990s.