Jacob Monk is a hand-weaver and textile artist whose practice reimagines the ancient art of ikat for a contemporary audience. Trained at Central Saint Martins, he now works from his studio in South East London, where he dyes and binds yarns before weaving them into vibrant textiles that carry both history and innovation.
Ikat, a technique that dates back centuries, is central to Monk’s work, but he pushes it forward by combining traditional resist-dyeing with dip-dye and painterly approaches. The results are textiles alive with colour shifts and movement, where tropical greens, bird-bright reds, and deep indigos meet in compositions that feel spontaneous yet meticulously made. Each piece celebrates the rigour of handcraft while breaking free from convention, producing framed works for domestic and public display.
His eye for colour and originality has been widely praised, from Camille Walala’s admiration of his “playful and painterly” approach to Dormeuil’s Aline Galimberti describing his work as “truly exciting.”
