With my collections now being personal to myself I began to think of what other items could I collect. I began to think of my daily routine and what I could collect actually from myself similar to my make-up wipes.
Hair… My hair falls out all the time through brushing and just day-to-day activity. How much could I collect through brushing and collecting the single hairs that fall?
This was the hair I collected in the space of two weeks. I decided to put it in a plastic bottle so it was contained but still visible.
Many people find the thought of a collection of someones hair abject due to the personal relation maybe, or perhaps the idea hair shouldn’t be used in any way apart from seen on the body.
Helen Chadwick’s piece, ‘Loop my Loop’ is a photograph of long golden hair in-twinning with a pigs bladder. The idea of hair mixing with this just provokes a disgusting reaction as to why would anyone mix hair with a pig’s insides.
Robert Gober’s piece, ‘Hairy Cheese’ is another piece which portrays across the abject feeling due to the hair on the cheese. I think this is due to the fact hair and cheese is not a combination you expect to see. The thought of having a piece of hair in a cheese sandwich gives the utter feeling of disgust. I think in a way this is more disgusting than ‘Loop the Loop’ due to the fine individual hairs just hanging from the cheese in a weird way, while the long golden hair appears less abject in a way because of the neater look of it.
I feel my collection of hair could be explored further with the individual strands, as well as it all to see what reactions it produces amongst viewers. This is something I am keen to explore.
