I am not my hair

I attended another talk at the Fitzwilliam Museum called " Roots to Relaxers"  on the 11th August; it was fantastic and I loved the title. The ladies who conducted the talk, Sandra Gittens and June Forbes were both very thorough in their research from which they shared historical information and photos these showed the origins and direction of black hairstyles. June Forbes talked more about the different treatments and care for black hair and some reference was made to the documentary "Good Hair" by Chris Rock a black American comedian, a few clips were shown from the documentary, one very strong point which this documentary  revealed was  that within the black community there is a hidden prejudiced to the different types of black hair - softer curls and tighter curls. The idea being that one type is better than the other, this is an unfortunate idea which exists. Having only recently shaved off most of my hair I can say that it has been the most liberating thing I have ever done, with the added bonus of less time to maintain it, I wish I had done it earlier as it has freed me from so many hangups. This debate reminded me of a song which I had heard a few years ago, I really liked it and although it was not a hit it was making a positive point. It was called I am not my hair by Indira Arie

 

Two pieces of my work has been selected for an exhibition to celebrate Black history month 8 -25 October at the Apex Gallery in Bury St. Edmunds . I am very excited by this and would like to thank  Deanna sending me the information about it.

 

Another really exciting thing has happened to me recently, I have been invited to give a talk about my experience with my mother's Alzheimer's and how I dealt with it through my work.