Shai Farasha Owner/Creative Director of The House of Shayaa had the pleasure of shooting a short hair documentry for the New Art Exchange Nottingham!!
Whats this all about?? I hear you ask, well a Nigerian photographer J.D 'Okhai Ojeikere
widely regarded as one of the greatest 20th century African photographers, Ojeikere earned international acclaim through his Hairstyle series; a personal project begun in 1968, which grew to encompass 1,000 photographs spanning 40 years. In recognition of the recently deceased artist, this Hayward Touring exhibition from Southbank Centre is the first UK exhibition of the renowned artist's work.
Ojeikere elevates hair design from fashion to a fine art form through celebrating their intricate patterns, sculptural qualities, and abstraction. In contrast to the variety of complex hairstyles represented, Ojeikere's photography uses a consistent and understated visual language. In these literally back-to-front portraits, softly-lit hairstyles occupy the majority of the composition without distraction from props or backdrops.
The hairstyles Ojeikere presents range from being purely decorative to symbols with precise meanings. Some designs are paraded on social occasions or celebrations such as weddings or birthdays, whilst other styles are worn casually on a regular basis. Hairstyles can be reflective of social status and royalty may have unique family hairstyles passed down through generations. To Ojeikere, the hairstyles celebrate uniqueness and reflect the diversity of cultural traditions within Nigeria ( info curtesy of the new art exchange Nottingham)
Now Shai Farasha was asked to share her natural hair and Loc expertise with the masses by demonstrating the two strand twist and doing the voice over for the hair demo of the Ghana braid. Hope fully you get chance to go see this exhition it's been on from 27th September and will remain with us untill the 11th January 2015.
