Grow It, Show It! – From September 13, a large photo exhibition at Museum Folkwang will shed light on the cultural significance of hairstyles in society, politics and everyday life.
Image above: Suffo Moncloa, Gucci/The Face Issue 9, 2021, Inkjet-Print, 118 x 86 cm © Suffo Studio
The exhibition Grow It, Show It! A look at hair from Diane Arbus to TikTok explores the role of hairstyles through a wide selection of historical and contemporary photographs, videos and film clips from art, fashion and social media. From iconic works such as J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere’s documentation of Nigerian hairstyles to the work of artist and fashion photographer Suffo Moncloa for Gucci, the survey exhibition shows that hair is far more than just a fashion accessory. It is an expression of identity, a means of communication and a social statement.
From photographers such as Helmut Newton or Chaumont-Zaerpour, who stage hairstyles not just as fashion accessories but as a central design element, to artists such as Hoda Afshar, Thandiwe Muriu or Maria Tomanova, who present hair as a means of resistance and emancipation: Grow It, Show It! shows that hair images are not only the subject of the cosmetics industry, but also of queer-feminist, body-political and post-colonial discourses. At the same time, the comprehensive themed exhibition explores the question of how images of hair have solidified and defined trends over time and the central role played by the history of photography and current social media formats such as tutorials and ASMR videos.
Firmly anchored in the photographic canon is the large-scale series of works by J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere, who has systematically documented the sculptural forms of Nigerian women’s hairstyles in over a thousand photographs since the 1960s. His work continues to influence a young generation of artists today, as the NFTs of the Yatreda Art Collective show. They combine the new, such as blockchain technology, with the old by preserving historical narratives and cultural traditions and paying homage to the richness of Ethiopian culture through the art of hair with their 360-degree portraits.
The photographic works by Samuel Fosso, Yinka Shonibare CBE RA, Herlinde Koelbl, August Sander and the rarely shown collections by David Hill and Robert Adamson from around 1845 deal with social status and representation. They explore the question of the power-political and hierarchizing dimensions of hair in social portraits. In their works, the artists Bubu Ogisi, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Laura Aguilar and Tunga explore the symbolism of hair in spirituality, ritual and performance.
Through the associative linking of different times, contexts, themes and photographic media, Grow It, Show It! tells a multitude of hair stories across 1,400 square meters of exhibition space and interweaves them again and again in an open, multimedia spatial staging.
The exhibition Grow It, Show It! will be accompanied by a richly illustrated publication published by DISTANZ Verlag. It will also be accompanied by an extensive program of events.
WHEN?
Exhibition dates: Friday, September 13, 2024 – Sunday, January 12, 2025
Opening hours: Tuesday – Wednesday, Saturday – Sunday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Thursday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
WHERE?
Museum Folkwang
Museumsplatz 1
45128 Essen
COST?
10 EUR, 6 EUR (reduced)
