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Iconic Combs - The Open College of the Arts

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Iconic Combs

This is a post from the weareoca.com archive. Information contained within it may now be out of date.
 
Afro Combs 2OCA art history tutor Julia Biggs reports for OCA from Cambridge:
‘If you get the chance this summer, I would recommend a visit to the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology (MAA) in Cambridge, to see a special exhibition.
Origins of the Afro Comb looks at the 6000-year history of the Afro Comb, outlining its aesthetic and cultural development from pre-dynastic Egypt to modern Black Power combs (via the African Diaspora). Encompassing the superstitions and taboos relating to Black hair, the show also includes plenty of associated images showing the wide variety of hairstyles found in Africa and around the world. Each of the hundreds of combs on display is a work of art, from intricately carved wooden pieces to works sculpted from ivory. However, it is the twentieth-century ‘afro’ combs that really stand out. Worn in the hair not only as an adornment but as a political emblem, these combs, signs of a collective identity, became synonymous with the Black Power Movement during the 1970s and with the affirmation of “Black is Beautiful”.Afro Combs1
At MAA this narrative is brought into the twenty-first century with three contemporary art installations by artist and writer Michael McMillan. Putting presentation and active interpretation together, these works (‘Hairdresser’s Salon’, ‘Barbershop’, and ‘Home Salon’) bring to life and trace the development of the global black hair industry, and the politicising and popularisation of Afros and Dreadlocks, wigs, extensions and ‘Black Blondes’. All of this is complimented by a film and a series of Black hair story ‘sound bites’, which can be heard by sitting under one of the hairdryers!
Afro Combs3Billed by its curator as an attempt to emphasise the unity of archaeology and anthropology, where art meets personal human stories, the exhibition is also aiming to encourage community involvement via video and oral interviews. It is this aspect of the exhibition, its curatorial form challenging the traditional wariness of putting conversations outside the printed catalogue, which is really exciting. By inviting public participation and applying new interpretative methods to the continuous and contemporary evolving fashions of Black hairstyles (and their representation in art) it is hoped that a more “open” exhibition spirit can start to emerge. Material culture and cultural belonging are the buzz words here, but pop along and see what you think!
Origins of the Afro Comb is on now at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge until 3 November and at the MAA until 28 September.
Images: Pre-Dynastic Egyptian Ivory Comb, Fitzwilliam Museum; Black fist plastic comb (Nigeria, Edo State) from the collection of Dr. Ohioma Pogoson; Michael McMillan
Installation, MAA


Posted by author: Jane Parry

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