Fibre and material arts have long been closely aligned with femininity—ask any Westerner and they will know somebody with fond memories of their mother’s knitted sweaters or their grandmother’s piecework quilts—but for several centuries before and during the Victorian era, hairwork was another popular and highly feminized craft that allowed women to perform appropriate gender expectations while memorializing their dead loved ones.

I’ve been interested in the 19th and 20th century concept of the hobo for years. This piece refers to the romanticized idea of the historical hobo that represents a space of freedom from mainstream culture and a way to push back against enforced capitalism.