The detritus, wool, reedy trunks and rags that find their way into Bircken’s grids are reminiscent of the temporary architectures and all-incorporating make-do of alternative communities on the margins of mainstream society. The weaving and crafting involved in her method additionally brings to mind 1960s and ’70s feminist art politics.

When shown together, her works can appear as a radical lifestyle Gesamtkunstwerk. ‘I am interested in dismantling prevailing hierarchies of value regarding these objects and materials by way of connecting them, thus putting them in a new context to each other. It’s an alternative system or cycle.’