At this factory, they make hats with the help of noisy and potentially hazardous machinery, reminding me of the factories of centuries past. I moved in on this old copper boiler, wreathed in steam, to stress both the nature of the material itself and its function – to provide heat and steam as needed to make hats. I combine indications of the age, function, and beauty of this boiler to interpret the nature of a very simple but necessary machine.