Rice Braided in Hair

During the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, enslaved Africans braided rice grains, crop seeds and plant buds into their hair, in anticipation of the Middle Passage. Once crossing over to the other side and arriving in colonies, slaves used these storages to harvest their own food supplies. In Suriname, escaped slaves used the smuggled seeds and grains to feed whole communities of people living in the jungle, known as Maroons. Generations later they still grow crops native to Africa using traditional methods. This is a textile storybook re-imagining this story using interactive electronic switches.