BLACK GOLD

Nigerian-American visual artist Adebunmi Gbadebo creates her work using donated, natural, afro hair as the primary medium.

“In this piece I collected hair from barbershop floors and garbage cans. The hair that I sweep from shop floors or dig out of garbage cans, is seen to its previous owners as discarded trash or scraps, which is ironic when looking at the value placed on Black hair before the Western world began to interact with Africa through slavery. Pre-Slavery, many African cultures believed that their spirit and power resided in their hair, so when their hair was cut the owner would keep their tresses in fear that someone could get hold of their spirit and strength. I aim to reclaim and reempower the disposed hair by sculpting the hair into this vast geometric form. The hair is glued and sewn onto various scraps of canvas and then sewn together to create one massive image of ‘Blackness.’”

Date 2015

Type human hair, thread, matte medium on canvas

Dimensions 60 x 52 inches

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