Cocoon Top Series 1

An expert paper weaver, this Korean artisan has mastered the 500-year-old jiseung technique; an intricate process that means the making of each basket can take up to six months. Her unique creations have been exhibited around the world, including in the permanent collection of London’s V&A Museum.
This stacked formation of paper baskets is a
towering paean to the surprising resilience of materials. Constructed from paper sourced from mulberry trees, Lee’s painstaking process – rubbing, tying, and weaving of delicate Hanji paper – ultimately solidifies the final work to such an extent that the material is able to last for over a millennium. Resembling the traditional Korean baskets used to collect shrimp, Lee’s choice to stack them together creates a cocoon-like turret that is suddenly fortified by scale.