How Black artists in Canada are using hair to express identity and reclaim power
One of the most staggering works of art I have ever seen was a knotted full-body garment made entirely out of human hair.
It was part of Amartey Golding’s broodingly beautiful exhibition, In the comfort of embers, which ran at the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery in Toronto in 2023. The wearable sculpture was co-created by Kevin Fortune, a London-based celebrity hairstylist and makeup artist. When I asked how it arrived in Canada, I was told it was transported in an oversized custom durag.
The theatrical, thematically rich piece commingles Black hairstyles in its intricate design, speaking to themes of diasporic identity, colonial oppression and the reclamation of power – one of many examples of how hair has become a frequent motif for contemporary Black artists.
Not only does this motif represent tradition and cultural preferences within Black communities, but it’s also a nod to the ongoing oppression many face as hair continues to be a point of racialized othering.