Shaking off the cobwebs…
This Week’s Soundtrack- Boss Bitch - Doja Cat (Click to have a listen while you read…)
Hello from inside the echoey halls of Fremantle Arts Centre.
We are the resident ghosts currently banging around upstairs and making loud noises whilst you peruse the artwork in the galleries downstairs. Well, perhaps not all the noises are from us, there are other craft classes and kids workshops happening at the same time. Perhaps we’ll attribute some blame to them too. Nonetheless, we have been very honoured to be given 2 weeks in the Pavlich Room to turn concepts into reality. We write to you now from the end of our first week.
What can we give away to you? Well outside of the wig wearing, post-lunch dance parties and yoga in the sun, we firstly found ourselves hot seating in the hairdressers’ chair. What do we think is good hair? How does it feel putting the fate of our hair in the hands of another? What is it about the salon that feels like a sacred place for divulging secrets…
Speaking of secrets… there’s the prickly problem of pubic hair. For such a private area it seems to be of public concern whether you have hair down there, or are indeed, bare. It can be a source of shame or confidence for a lot of women and plays a big part in feeling sexually empowered. Why does it hurt so much to remove it?
Steering away from the personal, we found solace in the story and symbol of Medusa. A protector of women’s secrets and embodiment of feminine rage and power, Medusa is one of the most prolific tales where hair plays a leading role. What once was a defining feature of her beauty, becomes a source of punishment and shame, but ultimately offers a reprieve from the male gaze. We are grateful for her story as it prompts us to ask, why is it so difficult to see a woman angry? Why is it that when a woman is powerful, she is depicted as a monster. Don’t we all have a little bit of Medusa in us?
Finishing the week on a high note we allowed ourselves to explore empowered identity through the catwalk. What does it mean to change your identity? How do you feel different with a different hair colour, cut or style? With a background of bangin’ tunes and a large stage for us to strut down, we found it freeing to explore ourselves this way, with only the eyes of other women viewing us. We felt sexy without feeling sexualised, we felt badass without feeling demonised and we took up space without feeling apologetic.
With a lot to digest and think about we turn to the weekend to offer us space, with plenty of kitten cuddles, naps and good food to recharge us. Let's see where the rest of this hairy journey takes us.
