Art and objects made from strands of hair: yes, somewhat creepy, but also riveting and intricate and, as it turns out, we can’t tear our eyes away. Like a good ghost story, hair art is both compelling and repellent; just imagine the feel of one silky strand skittering across exposed skin… PSYCH! After the jump, we present a selection of artists who deal in the delicate, with hair art in the form of sculpture, drawing, and photography.
This artist recently decamped from Charleston, SC, where she began making artwork out of hair nine years ago, to the remote and lovely Vashon Island in Washington state. Her last body of work, Mend, involved replicas of sentimental accessories (gloves, spectacles, suspenders, shoes) made entirely of human hair and thread. Antonson’s newest collection, for an upcoming show in Seattle, will be insects made out of hand-painted hair; Antonson explains: “They are life-size and look very real in person. The collection will be a mix of actual replicas of insect species and also some dreamy insects that I invent.”
Though most of Gaspar’s work employs watercolor and pencil with an assortment of found objects (cacti, candy wrappers), I Have Lived in Dreams from 2007 features a shock of human hair with a torn photo printed from an inkjet printer.
Lighting
On the poppier end of the spectrum, we have Jonathan Adler’s Barbie hair chandelier, a kitschy addition to Mattel’s lifesize Malibu Dream House from 2009. Shelterpop points us to a more recent addition to the doll-hair lighting canon, with the Frisa floorlamp designed by Anika Engelbrecht.
For the faint of heart, we recommend observing, and not touching, hair. See? It’s pretty, especially when photographed in motion by Ty Cole. (See the entire Hair series under “Projects” on the artist’s website.)
And back to the sinister side of things, we have Winnie Truong, whose pencil drawings “clearly clearly understand the allure and terror of hair.” Her detailed portraits appeal to the side of us that appreciates backwater tales of malevolent pirates and feuding, incestuous familial clans.
Know of any other artists working in the same, er, strand? We’d love to see ’em! Let us know in the comments.