<p>This amazing time-lapse video shows a talented student creating a breath-taking five-foot-nine high statue - from a single piece of paper.</p><p>Chris Conrad, 22, took around 65 hours designing and then folding the stunning 'dragon tamer' figure after first sticking together a 19-foot square piece of paper.</p><p>Chris, who works as a researcher at a political consultancy, spends 15-25 hours a week on his origami projects, of which he produces around one piece a week.</p><p>Chris, from New York, said: "Just making the 19-foot square to start with was exhausting! </p><p>"It takes maybe one minute of the time-lapse, but that was six hours for me with only one break!”</p><p>Understandably, the project was a massive undertaking and left Chris both mentally and physically exhausted:</p><p>He added: “Every part of the project took longer and was more physically taxing than I anticipated.</p><p>“Honestly, I was mainly relieved it was over.</p><p>“That said, I think the most challenging part was right at the end because the model was so heavy, I had to stand it up using a lamp.</p><p>“Gravity tried to sort of stretch out the neck and torso in a way that was really difficult to deal with."</p><p>The incredible skills that Chris demonstrates in making this piece haven’t evolved over a long period of time, it is mainly something he picked up over the last few years.</p><p>“I've been doing origami since I was in middle school - so around 12 years,” which may seem like a while, but he continued: </p><p>“I only started folding super-complex origami in May 2020, and I only started designing my own models in December 2020.”</p><p>“Basically, I've acquired most of the skills I have today in the last two years."</p><p>The very technical and specific field of political research seemed at odds with Chris’ status as an artist. </p><p>He added; “For now I'm happy with my current field, but I definitely want to make moves towards doing art full time over the long run.”</p><p>“I'm hoping to spend a lot more time in the remainder of 2022 refining my skills as a designer and start submitting work to galleries in the next year,”</p><p>"I think there's something intensely satisfying about how tactile origami is - everything is done with your hands...you have a physical finished product to point to and think to yourself 'I made that.'"</p>