Matthew Gardiner is a world leading expert in the field of Oribotics, having coined the field, and pioneered the fusion of origami, folding and robotics. With his generations of Oribotic artworks Gardiner’s artistic contexts include team-based research within commercial institutions and universities, and individual artworks with experience extending across aesthetic and interactive experience design, digital manufacturing, rapid prototyping, expert-level origami and writing code. 

The innovator joined the Ars Electronica Futurelab in 2010 as an Australia Council for the Arts supported artist in residence. During this time, he produced his magnum opus Oribotics [the future unfolds], and later joined their Research and Innovation Group, as a key researcher in the field of Functional Aesthetics. Gardiner was instrumental in the curation and production of the flagship exhibition Project Genesis on the topic of Synthetic Biology, a follow-up from the workshop program Living Logic as part of a 3-year European Union FP7 project Studiolab. 

Current research activities include doctoral work on the topic of Folding and Technology and a major Art Science research FWF PEEK funded program: ORI* On the Language and Aesthetics of Folding and Technology. 

Gardiner is the best-selling author of “Everything Origami”, and Artistic Director of Folding Australia from 2003-2009. 

hosts the Topicgroup Workshops Folding the future: materials and design strategies for origami robotics