I have continued to work with hair and makeup and I believe this is what makes up my identity as sad as it sounds. I was worked with some of my old hair extensions and lipstick to create two pieces of work. The pieces are representing the lost identity I have, yes you can see both piece are portraying a face yet you cannot see one all you can see is the hair and the lipstick. Which are the vital elements to my mask which I hide behind every day.
I then began to think more what really made me, and I came to the conclusion of my hair. It has always been something that I have felt ruled my life. I hated how fuzzy and curly it was and dark. However I used it as a mask to hind behind. All I ever wanted to have was straight long hair, as this was my ideal Barbie self to me. I also had a massive issue about the other hair on my body such as my top lip, my arms and leg hair etc, I hated it! And so did everyone else apparently I got laughed at and asked many of times by the other children in my class “ eww why are you so hairy and why do you have a beard and hairy arms. As I got older I hide behind my long dark hair even more (now it was more tamed and no curly and frizzy).
So I began to use my hair extension hair I thought it was odd how I had long hair cut it off then put fake hair in to make it long again, and how unrealistic it was and is. Hair is something that represents woman to me as I feel it is big thing for most women they have bad hair days or even the odd top lip hair I am sure. Other artists have used hair in their art work such as Judith Fegerl from Austria, she uses it in her installation piece Tension object
I began to collect cutting from my hair when I recently went to the hair dressers also I cut up some of my hair extension hair, I pinned it to a canvas to show my collection of hair and also seeing the difference between what hair was real and what hair was fake, it is hard to tell the difference.
Over the Christmas period I really began to think about what makes me and what defines me as a person. What is behind this wall that I put up and put on? I began thinking of what I have hidden behind and what I use to make myself less like me, to try to become this Barbie like doll.
I looked at a couple of artists ones that really influence me. I looked in detail at Cindy Sherman, I really admired her work with dolls, I liked how outrageous they were and how she had explored sexuality and feminist points through using the dolls. I found it interesting how she described her work this dolls in an interview with Therese Lichtenstein.
“My ideas are not developed before I actually do the pieces. It’s good that you see it in that way. I never thought of the whole childhood thing and playing with dolls and dressing them up in regard to the newest work. For me it was out of boredom from using myself in the work, and feeling tied to that way of working. I became more interested and fascinated by the basics of what these prosthetic body parts were and I was just trying to use them without having to wear them myself. The whole series evolved from two mannequins — one female (the one positioned animal-like on all fours with the doll) and the other one male (the guy with the axe in the S-M scenario). These are the two most basic mannequins”.
Also I was influenced by a piece of work by Jeff Koons it is a painting of wigs one cheese. I found this very interesting how he was using the hair to make a face form without it even being there, you could tell what was meant to be there as you looked at it from a glance. I also liked the use of the lips and the background of trees and flowers; it gives the piece almost a collage look to it. For me the painting is of a representation of women maybe to him? Maybe this is how he sees the female form. This was something I wanted to capture In my own work, things that represented me.
