TENDERHEADED
In this body of work, I reflect on the role of hair and protective styling as a means of understanding my queerness through the lens of my blackness. The braiding of afro-textured hair serves, both in this work and in the cultural practices that this work references, as a means of self-transformation that exists uniquely within blackness. As such, I seek to address the ways in which the visual cues often associated with queerness intersect with the visual aesthetics of blackness, where hair occupies a space somewhere between body and ornament.

Limp Wrist
2022
Braiding hair, dyed silicone, steel, powder coat, thread

Big Black
2022
Braiding hair, silicone, brass, powder coat, thread

Knotless Costs Extra
2022
braiding hair, dyed silicone, brass, powder coat, steel, thread

Slippage I
2022
braiding hair, silicone, titanium, steel, thread, found hair ornament

Slippage II
2022
braiding hair, dyed silicone, anodized titanium, steel, thread, found hair ornament

Slippage III
2022
braiding hair, dyed silicone, anodized titanium, steel, thread, found hair ornament

Slippage IV
2022
braiding hair, dyed silicone, anodized titanium, steel, thread

Slippage V
2022
braiding hair, dyed silicone, anodized titanium, steel, thread

Slippage VI
2022
braiding hair, dyed silicone, anodized titanium, steel, thread, found hair ornament

Slippage VII
2022
braiding hair, dyed silicone, anodized titanium, steel, thread

Fem Top
2022
braiding hair, dyed silicone, nickel, powder coat, pony beads, hair elactics, thread

Takedown I
2022
braiding hair, dyed silicone, nickel, powder coat, stainless steel, thread

Takedown II
2022
braiding hair, dyed silicone, nickel, powder coat, stainless steel, thread

Pony I
2022
braiding hair, dyed silicone, nickel, powder coat, cultured freshwater pearls, hair elactics, thread

Pony II
2022
braiding hair, dyed silicone, nickel, powder coat, cultured freshwater pearls, hair elactics, thread