By Damali Kelly-Andrews.
Africa has a hair braiding tradition that stretches back thousands of years- as far back as Pharonic Egypt.
Included within this tradition were sophisticated techniques that created complex hairstyles while utilizing natural hair, human hair, synthetic hair, jewelry, and other accessories all geared towards emphasizing the socio-economic status, religion and aesthetic perspective of the patron.
Meschac Gaba draws on this tradition.
He pushes the envelope by creating models of iconic buildings from wire frames. Intricate hairstyles are then braided with synthetic hair onto these frames.
African professional natural hair artists execute the braiding according to patterns dictated by Gaba.
The resulting hair sculptures are a veritable fusion of modern architecture and traditional hair braiding.
They serve as a reminder that traditional African hair braiding has always created intricate, geometric sculptural forms……or if you like defacto moving installations of outstanding creativity.
Some commentators have opined that Gaba’s wire based braided wigs (aka “architectural wigs”) allude to the sustained colonial burden still carried by modern African societies decades after nominal political independence.
What do you think?
Gaba was born in Benin; he is now based in Cotonou and Rotterdam.
His early training was under the painter Zossou Gratien and continued in Amsterdam at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende kunsten.