South Korean artist Dahye Jeong weaves intensely delicate, barely-there baskets. But these are not containers to place in the corner of a room or to stuff full of newspapers. Each is painstakingly handcrafted over months from a single, unusual material — horsehair. One of her pieces — a stout yet intricate, copper-hued piece titled “A Time of Sincerity” — has just won the 2022 Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, an award established by the Spanish fashion house to celebrate the contemporary evolution of traditional craft practices.
The technique that Jeong uses dates back to the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), when it was employed to create durable, status-symbol hats for men. The method is particularly associated with the “gat”, a hat with a cylindrical crown and wide brim. Jeong, who studied both sculpture and textiles at university, discovered the technique during a programme run by Korea Craft & Design Foundation on South Korea’s Jeju Island, where she grew up.