Heads N' Tales Visual Arts Project

Artist's Statement

"Hair is a protection women are wrapped in, it is like a caterpillar in a cocoon, but yet hair is more friendly as a cocoon eliminates the subject. Silk, hair, wool are everywhere. Skeins are put together in a methodical fashion, whereas hair is unruly and free. It has to be retained or braided. Hair as an iconographic symbol and a formal motif in myths and fairytales, sometimes having a beneficial function, it is especially feminine, a sign of beauty as in the stories of Ophelia and Magdalene."
Louise Bourgeois

I initiated the Heads N' Tales visual Arts Project in association with Think! Burnham to engage with the local community, schools, businesses and St Peter's Church in Burnham High Street. The work is concerned with the daily life and local stories of the people who work in and visit the hairdressing salons:- Define Hair and Beauty, Freedom Hair Design, Head First, Natural Hair Room, The Strand and The Edge.

The salons are social spaces where people meet to have their hair cut/styled/coloured, swap stories about themselves and their communities. Some people regard their hairdresser as a therapist/analyst and perhaps feel they are able to offload when they are having their hair done. This can help in some way towards their health and well-being. The project also includes and examines the cultural, symbolic and religious aspects of hair and hairstyles.

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Rhonda Fenwick