Revival of a traditional fence using local balsam fir and no nails—built for purpose.
This project began as a research and building experiment rooted in folk craft. It explores the wriggle fence (a wiggly or serpentine fence), a traditional fencing technique found in Newfoundland and the rural British Isles.
The form was studied through old photos, YouTube recordings of local elders, and visits to farmsteads. Using locally harvested saplings, this elegant, straightforward fencing style relies on flexibility, rhythm, and repetition. The fence acts as a structure and sculpture, preserving a rural vernacular in a contemporary context.
Wriggle Fence became a meditative physical experience connecting the past to the present. It offered an opportunity to reflect on how material knowledge and embodied-making practices sustain culture across generations.
