A gallery in central London is currently host to an exhibition that shows off some remarkable examples of Korean aesthetics through the concept of Weaving.
The exhibition aims to highlight the hours spent in achieving innovation, individuality and immersion through a single material. At the same time, materials that are translucent and see-through are juxtaposed against one another to play with light, shadow and silhouette.
So, there are a lot of window blinds, which look typical, if well made, but there are some really interesting contemporary artworks further into the exhibition.
Something that looks like a modest string basket turns out to be an example of a dying art – of basket weaving using horse hair. This one is made by Dahye Jeong, and a video at the end of the exhibition briefly explains how it was made. As you can’t touch it, my initial presumption was that I was looking at a static object, but the video shows that it’s quite soft to the touch and flexes in the wind.
Around the corner, a series of wall panels are made from thin steel rods that have been tightly wound with coloured fabric, creating subtly three-dimensional paintings on the walls.
There’s also what looked at a distance to be a sedimentary stone mounted onto wood, but the colours within the space are an example of weaving, which is if anything a marvel to admire for its technical skills alone.
It’s a modest display of a handful of items, but the artistry is impressive, and it’s in a gallery space that not many people know about.
The exhibition, Light of Weaving: Labour-Hand-Hours is at the Korean Cultural Centre, which is on Northumberland Avenue, just to the south of Trafalgar Square.
It’s open Mon-Fri 10am to 5:30pm until 30th June and is free to visit. You need to ring the bell to open the doors, and the exhibition is to the left as you go in.
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