More soft symbols: knitted chain links, and handmade ropes tied into nooses. “The nooses represent the juxtposition between beauty and death,” says Applebaum. “The chain links represent mental chains, and a lack of intellectual freedom. A lot of times I take really common imageries or symbols and try to dwell on them more, even though they could be seen as being trite or overused, like nooses or chains or guns.”