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Photo by Olivia Harrison
Sonya Clark (second from left) receives a gift basket from the stylists involved in the "Hair Craft Project."
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Photo by Olivia Harrison
Winning stylist Jamilah Williams (right) with Taryn Adkins and Jason Glass
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Photo by Olivia Harrison
Best-in-Show stylists Jamilah Williams (left) and Ife Robinson, with Sonya Clark wearing their creations.
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Photo by Olivia Harrison
Best-in-Show canvas works by Kamala Bhagat (left) and Chaunda King
The “Hair Craft Project” at 1708 Gallery may have closed, but that doesn’t mean it’s the end of this inspired exhibition conceived of by Sonya Clark, chairwoman of the VCUArts Department of Craft/Material Studies.
“I hope to travel it to other venues throughout the nation and ultimately find a permanent home for it,” Clark says, noting that one of her previous projects, “Beaded Prayers,” traveled to 30 venues over a dozen years. Shown at VCU’s Anderson Gallery in 2009, it included the work of 5,000 people from 35 countries.
If I hadn’t seen the 1708 exhibition, I’m not sure I would have thought a lot about the artistry that’s involved in hair braiding. Clark emphasized it by asking the group of Richmond stylists not only to braid her hair and have the results photographed, but to complete works with silk thread on canvases that would hang on the wall. The results seemed to surprise even them. During a gallery talk earlier this month, Nasirah Muhammad (Ancient Techniques) said of working on the canvas, “I had to put it down and come back to it. Then, all of a sudden, it flowed.”
Clark noted that when she wore the style by Jamilah Williams (Jah Earth/Jah Braids, 908-8240) on a trip to Italy for the Venice Art Biennale, “people were photographing the back of my head.” Williams, who calls her design a “lotus” style, said she was overwhelmed to know that her handiwork traveled so far.
About a week after the gallery talk, 1708 announced that juror A’Lelia Bundles, author of On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker, selected Williams as the first-place winner from among the 11 hairstyles. Williams received $500, and second-place winner Ife Robinson (Indigo Salon, 354-0974) received $250.
Another juror, Lowery Stokes Sims, chief curator at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, chose best-in-show winners from among the canvases. First place and $500 went to Kamala Bhagat (Natural Salon and Spa), while second place and $250 went to Chaunda King (also of Natural Salon and Spa).
In addition, gallery visitors were invited to vote for their favorite hairstyle and canvas. It appears that they were in sync with the jurors, because after more than 500 voted, People’s Choice Awards went to Bhagat for the canvas and Williams for the hairstyle.
Clark says, “One of the goals of the 'Hair Craft Project' was to bring together the multiple communities that I belong to as an artist, professor, black woman, researcher on the semiotics of hair, etc. The pastiche in these projects I create is central to my work as an artist. It is a means to permeate boundaries, create dialog and generate cultural confluences. What I learn in the process is always invaluable. And, it almost always leads me to the next idea.”
She adds that she is working on a project that will include barbers and hairdressers in a literary festival in Miami. And, “I have another project proposal that will bring together museums, artist-hairdressers and Ghanaian sign painters,” Clark says.
I look forward to seeing how these projects evolve. Meanwhile, a solo show by Clark, “Same Difference,” continues at Reynolds Gallery through April 5, featuring sculptural works that address themes of cultural identity and heritage. She says, "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." Also part of the show are portraits that Clark made of each of the stylists from the "Hair Craft Project."
