The project explores the translation and encryption of urban resources into a delicate textile language. Through an interdisciplinary research methodology, the work responds to the question: how can sewing practices facilitate a discrete transferral of information?

Inspired by South American quipu necklaces and rumours from the Underground Railroad, the work attempts to encode complex geographical locations into embroidered stitchwork. This was informed by research into wartime espionage, in which female spies passed on information to allies through knitting. Thus, the project stems from a history of women using the domestic craft of sewing as a tool for humanitarian aid and survival.

The project attempts to honour these roots in the contemporary context of women’s refuge, defined as the provision of services for women attempting to leave an unsafe domestic environment.

This reflects a need for both creative material experimentation and social sensitivity, demonstrating the power of unspoken codes in providing aid to high-risk demographics in the city.