“My best friend has claws for hands and X-ray eyes to see
(His name is Paul)

My parents think my robot’s trouble
Motherboard and CPU control the way Paul thinks
My program was written fast and might not be bug free
(He’s four feet tall)”

Barcelona’s song “Robot Trouble” has been stuck in my head for awhile. Besides the fact that it’s adorable, I like it because it’s about robots. And the song provides the best soundtrack to view Jessica Hutchinson’s knitted robots. These little dears going out on their own to find their place in this world not only demonstrates how I feel about knitting and modernity, but also evokes my favorite construct: home.

In placing the robots in various situations “out in the real world,” Jessica places knitting outside of the home, and by photographing the robots wandering around modernity, she highlights the ways that needlecraft may seen alien in the urban. While endearing themselves to us as they bravely venture into unknown territory, her creatures also elucidate how we view crafts such as knitting in our cultural conscience as something safe, because they make you question them before embracing them.

While clicking through the collection, I am reminded of my own travels and questions about belonging and the sense of home. Is it a place? A person? My dear friend Katherine and I used to have rambling talks about the definition of this tiny word that has so much impact while wandering around London, both thousands of miles away from our so-called “hometowns.” One day she noted that for those of us who wander, perhaps “home” is less defined by bricks and mortar and more by a feeling that we carry with us and share with others. I think this is the definition that I hold closest to my heart.