Hair Sculpture

My felted sculptures play with the cultural taboo of hair and fur in unexpected places.  They explore overt and implied sexual innuendo concerning the feminine and feline signifiers of body hair and fur while referencing images from fashion and art history.  The historic fashion image of my redheaded grandmother modeling a fur muff plays with an allusion to animal sexuality with its material and placement on the body. In Red Triangle, my own suggestive shape of hair appears embedded in wool felt.

Ghost Ship was inspired by a famous Rococo hairstyle supposedly worn by Marie Antoinette, named Coiffure à L’Independence.  I updated it by conflating hair and ornament.

Luncheon in Hair is an appropriation of Meret Oppenheim's Luncheon in Fur, with its intentional double meanings. Instead of covering the teaspoon and cup with fur, I felted my cat’s fur and my hair. Hair Teapot and Cup continues this provocation of bringing a hairy object up to one’s mouth.

I’ve collected my hair for decades and rely on its natural color and curly texture for these sculptures. (Click on any image to see full view.)