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Sonya Clark Hair
A collage of images from “Sonya Clark: The Hair Craft Project”
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Cornrow Chair, 2010
Silk thread on re-upholstered found chair
Dimensions variable
Photo: Taylor Dabney
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Rooted and Uprooted, 2011
Canvas and thread
Diptych
30 x 12 x 12 inches
Photo: Taylor Dabney
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Detail of Rooted and Uprooted
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An example of the hair canvases that were given to area hairdressers to weave for "The Hair Craft Project."
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Sonja Clark's hair in its natural state
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Taylor Dabney
Albers Comb, thread and plastic combs
Two exhibitions by Sonya Clark open in February: “Sonya Clark: The Hair Craft Project,” a collaboration with local hairdressers at 1708 Gallery from Feb. 14 to March 8, and “Same Difference,” at Reynolds Gallery from Feb. 21 to April 5.
The first show “celebrates and acknowledges hairdressing as an art form,” Clark says. “It has been called my brainchild, but really I consider myself a catalyst. Central to the project are the 11 Richmond hairdressers: Jameika Pollard, Natasha Superville, Jamilah Williams, Chaundra King, Kamala Bhagat, Ife Robinson, Nasirah Muhammad, Marsha Johnson, Anita Hill Moses, Ingrid Riley and Dionne Eggleston. Each is an artist with craft, vision and talent. I wanted to bring their art from the salon to the gallery.”
Each of the hairdressers braided Clark’s hair, and photographs of them and their work (taken by Naoko Wowsugi and Diego Valdez) will be included in the exhibition, along with short biographies written by Maya Smart. Also part of the exhibition will be oval-shape canvases stitched with threads that they have been plaiting, braiding and twisting. As part of “The Hair Craft Project,” curators and scholars will jury the work and participate in gallery talks at 1708 Gallery on Feb. 27 and March 6.
“The public is invited to vote for their favorite hairstyles and artworks produced by the Richmond hairdressers,” Clark says. “It is an ambitious project with many players and components, and one that I have thoroughly enjoyed.”
Emily Smith, executive director of 1708 Gallery, says that the exhibition “allows us to broaden the discussion of what creativity is and artistic expression is.”
In her show at Reynolds, Clark continues to explore some of the same themes. “Hair salons are often places of cultural difference,” she says. “Hair styles and texture are rarely neutral and often political. The works in ‘Same Difference’ play on the edges of these divides. The pieces are riffs on cultural identity made from hair, combs and textiles with music and Albers' color theory and a few other surprises thrown in the mix.”
The two exhibitions, Clark says, “are my attempt to shed light on incredible artist-hairdressers and share my work with Richmond's flourishing art community.”
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