- nyc
apexart atapexart
Pratt - Brooklyn

Trevor Paglen
Tabita Rezaire

Black hair is as old as Black people themselves, andit carries much more significance than simply beinga physical feature. Since its inception, Black hair has
been closely connected to Black identity, culture, andcommunity. It is often seen as a symbolic representationof a person’s origin, value, and social status. Additionally,hair has spiritual connotations for many Black people.
Throughout history, there have been many examples ofAfrican people who have considered hair to be a sourceof power, a way to connect with a higher power, anda conduit for spiritual interaction. As a result, Blackpeople treat their hair with reverence. Making hair isalso a central part of how Black people connect andbuild community. Black-owned salons are often safe
spaces where people can bond, socialize, learn about
current events, and find support.
By employing the art of portmanteau to combine “Hair”
and “Heritage”, the exhibition title Hairitage explores
the complex relationship between Black hair and theidentity of Black people. Through thematic explorationof identity, memory, community, racism, and resistance,
the presented works offer a nuanced examination of
the politics of Black hair and how deep rooted systemsof oppression have shaped the prejudicial treatment
of Black people from the slavery era to present-day
America. Featuring photography, mixed media, andvideo installation work, the exhibition brings together
the works of Black and African American artists living
and working in the United States including Adebunmi

Adebunmi GbadeboDavid Orrell
Dejeonge Reese
Jade Rodgers

Curated by Favour Ritaro
November 18 - December 18, 2023

HairitageJune- JulyA.
31, 2022
curatedby3 MaeNovember4 - December
23,Miller2022

Renée GreenDeborah Jack

Fantastic: Eco-CriticalContemporary Botanical Art
AFloraThousand
Secrets
Beatrice Glow
Tuan Andrew Nguyen
curated by Corina Apostol, Tashima Thomas

Cover Image: Adebunmi Gbadebo, Untitled 2, 2023, Black hair, cotton, rice paper, indigo dye and printed photographs, 17 x 22in.

apexart © 2023
ISBN: 978-1-946416-63-6

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apexartHairitage

apexart - nycDavid Orrell, The Pencil Test 2, 2021, Photography, 20 x 24 in.

Jade Rodgers, Visuality, 2020, Pigment Inkjet Print, 22 x 16 in.

Gbadebo, David Orrell, Jade Rodgers, and Dejeonge
Reese.
Historically, Black hair has been used as a tool ofoppression and Black people have faced discriminationand prejudice due to this. For example, Black people
have been fired from jobs, denied housing, and evensuspended from school because of their hair. Policies
made to prohibit natural hair styles like afros, braids,
bantu, and locs have been a subtle way of removing Blackchildren from classrooms. In 2010 and 2013 respectively,
3 primary schools in Oklahoma, Ohio, and Florida
released dress-codes that banned wearing natural hair1.
One of the students had to change schools after being
expelled for having dreadlocks. In Milwaukee, a teacher
punished a Black first grader by cutting off one of her
braids in front of the class and throwing it in the trash.
This sort of discrimination is rooted in racism and thehistory of slavery in America. From the arrival of Blackslaves in America being forced to work on plantations,
history shows that Black women had to cover their hairwith scarfs due to the harshness of the work they had todo. Following this enslavement and displacement, Black
people have been faced with dehumanization such as
having their head shaved in order to be presentable
before the slave masters. To shave their heads is to strip
them of their identity. Others who were allowed towork in homes imitated their master’s wives by wearing
wigs or styling their hair in certain ways.
This essay would be incomplete without acknowledging
the first wave of the natural hair movement and othersubsequent movements. In the 1960s and 1970s, the“Black is Beautiful” movement ushered in a new eraof appreciation for Black culture, including naturalinvestigate the complexities between land, matter, andmemory on various sites of slavery. Adebunmi Gbadebo’s
True Blue: 18 Holes series is a powerful exploration of theconnection between Black hair, identity, and history. The seriesreferences the rice and indigo plantation where Gbadebo’sancestors were enslaved, suffered, and buried. The True Blue
Plantation in Fort Motte, South Carolina, was named for theindigo production that took place there, but it was also a siteof horrific violence and exploitation. Slaves forced to labor on
the plantation had a very low life expectancy.
David Orrell’s Hairitage project began as an exploration of his
own identity and evolved into an inquiry into the role of Blackhair in identity formation. Inspired by J.D. Okhai Ojeikere’s
photographic exploration of unique hairstyles throughout
Africa, Orrell’s inquiry led to uncovering current systematicracism against Black people. His series Taji and the Pencil Test
challenge Eurocentric beauty standards and promote Black
self-love, showing that Black hair is more than just hair. They
draw from cultural references, historical events, motifs, andsymbols to examine racism targeted at Black hair in Americanculture.

Jade Rodgers, Is the Afro on the way OUT, 2020, Pigment Inkjet Print, 16 x 20 in.

The Pencil Test series highlights the Black hair journey andracism targeted at Black hair in American culture. Theworks explore ways in which racism has historically andcontemporarily influenced the way Black hair is perceived andtreated. Historically, the pencil test was used as a method ofmeasurement to decide who was considered White and Blackhairstyles, hair textures, and physical characteristics
found in the African American community2. Blackcelebrities were seen wearing their natural hair on
TV and in public events as a sign of affirmation andsolidarity. This movement was further strengthened by
the Black Arts Movement, a cultural arm of the BlackPower Movement that focused on sharing ideologies ofBlack self-determination, political beliefs, and AfricanAmerican culture.
The enduring commitment to recontextualizing Blackculture is rooted in the diverse experiences of Black
people and the racial discrimination they have faced,particularly towards their hair and bodies. To deny theexistence of discrimination against Black hair is to denyracism against Black people. This exhibition explores
the role of Black hair in contemporary Black andAfrican American identity, while also acknowledging its
historical significance in American culture.
Adebunmi Gbadebo uses collected Black hair throughout
the Diaspora and historically imbued materials toAdebunmi Gbadebo, Untitled 3, 2023, Black hair, cotton, rice paper, indigo dye and printed
photographs, 17 x 22in.

survival. Today we carry on the traditions of braiding andhair care practices that are at the heart of our ancestors’
stories of survival.” Metaphorically, the collective
weaving of the hair depicts how our hair ties us together
in many ways.
Dejeonge Reese’s Hair Quilt is inspired by the historyof quilts in African American culture and how they
were used to tell stories and send messages along theUnderground Railroad. Patterns such as a bear paw on
a quilt hung outside a safe house were used to signal tofreedom seekers that safe food and water were nearby.
Cornrows were plated in ways that sent messages oracted as maps to escape enslavement.

DeJeonge Reese, Hair Quilt, 2023, Synthetic Hair, 40 x 50 in.

or nonwhite. It was part of a series of unofficial tests for theclassification of race. After a pencil is pushed through theperson’s hair, they are asked to shake their head. If the pencil
stayed in the hair, that would indicate it must be of kinkyblack stock and the person is therefore classified as Black.
If the pencil slid through, the person could be consideredwhite. The Taji series, on the other hand, celebrates Black
pride and joy by featuring uniquely braided hairstyles foundthroughout the African diaspora. Orrell presents Black hairas a tool for empowerment and liberation, challenging
Eurocentric beauty standards and promoting Black self-love.
He collaborates with African American master hairdressers,
models, wardrobe stylists and designers, set directors, andfilm producers to further exemplify the community effort
where Black hair is concerned.
Jade Rodgers presented series CRWN explores Black hairas a site of affirmation, care, and refuge from daily anguishwhile also, at times, potentially being a site of moretrauma. The project exists as a visual protest to combat
the surge of imagery online of Black death and suffering
during the summer of 2020. By highlighting Black haircare practices that have been used for generations. The
familiar act of doing one another’s hair creates a spaceof relief that most Black people are not afforded intheir daily lives. The shared experiences of using certainproducts, hairstyles, and the appreciation that historicallyour hair was not simply for beauty purposes. This practiceamong others is personified through the contemporary
Black experience. In her words “During slavery many
Black women would hide food in their hair as a means forThis quilt is completely hand braided and hand sewn
together, and it took over two months to complete. It
is a beautiful and powerful tribute to the resilience andcreativity of African Americans, and to the ways in which
they have used their hair and other cultural traditions toresist oppression and find freedom.
Accompanying this exhibition is a video installationof interviews conducted to highlight the experiences
and hair journey of Black students at Pratt Institute.
In addition, interviews conducted at Black-owned hairsalons further expand on what Black hair means and therole it has played in their community.

Hairitage aims to provide historical references and reallife experiences of how Black hair has been misconstrued
over the years. Together, the works of these artists andthe interviews seek to educate audiences about thenuances of Black hair and how deeply it relates to theidentity of Black people. Lastly, it celebrates the effort ofgenerations that fought the oppression against Black hairand the resilience of young people in our contemporarytime.
Favour Ritaro© apexart 2023
Open Call Exhibition
1. Janelle Griffith, NBCNews When hair breaks rules: some blackchildren are getting in trouble for natural hairstyles, 2019
2. National Museum of African American History and Culture, Blackis Beautiful: The Emergence of Black Culture and Identity in the 60s
and 70s