The Chicken Before The Egg: Mexican Artisan Collective

An exhibition of ‘Chicken Baskets’ from Oaxaca, Mexico.

These beautiful baskets are created as part of a ground-breaking project initiated by a collective of artisans working with local prisoners. The project aims to give prisoners both a sense of achievement and an important skill.

The work draws on Mexico’s rich pre-Columbian cultural tradition. But if basket-weaving is one of Mesoamerica’s oldest crafts, it remains a vital element in the cultural life of modern Mexico – always receptive to the possibilities of new materials and new forms. These baskets are woven from fine plastic tubing over a wire structure. They are alive with colour and wit.