Jeremy Speed-Schwartz 

The Paper Ecosystem is fragile. Human interaction with the animal and plant life will change it quickly. Trees will die. Animals will change their habits. Water may become polluted. Glaciers may melt. The paper that this ecosystem is based on will tear apart. The more human activity over these areas, the faster these changes will progress.

The Paper Ecosystem is also resilient. By keeping human activity in a compact area, the ecosystem as a whole can flourish. Plant and animal life will return. Water will clear, glaciers may return. New paper will unfold and replace the old paper. By modifying human activity, the ecosystem can flourish, and humans can remain a part of it.

How different is the Paper Ecosystem from our own Earth’s Ecosystem?

This exhibit was made possible through the contributions of Jillian Gregory and Colin Wheeler, who assisted with the animation, Ezra Kirsch for digital compositing, and Madelyn Zimbler-Nowak, who created the origami. We also extend our gratitude to Kennesaw State University School of Art and Design for donating computing hardware. A special thanks to Ed Whelan, Britnay Ferguson, Blair Wright, and Heather Zimbler-DeLorenzo for their invaluable support!

About the Team

Jeremy Speed Schwartz is an animator, historian and interactive artist. He is the director of The Museum of Animation, an organization dedicated to teaching the techniques and history of animation in all its various forms. As a founding member of the art collective ‘The League of Imaginary Scientists’, Jeremy has created animated and interactive work for the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, The Art Museum at the University of Memphis, and the Sundance Institute. He lives in Atlanta, GA and teaches at Kennesaw State University.