Artificial hair and a discovered body compose “Takin’ in strides,” (2022) by Nneka Kai. (Photographs courtesy of Day & Evening Initiatives)
Rising from discarded cans, strung throughout a salvaged body and coiling to make a vessel — hair, particularly Black hair, is the defining medium of Nneka Kai’s solo exhibition On Unstable Grounds at Day & Evening Initiatives.
The exhibition begins with The Sign is the Signal (2025). A virtually 6-foot sculpture composed of braided hair coiled to create a kind of beehive form, this animated paintings greets guests simply contained in the entry. Embedded inside the coils of hair are a soundboard and audio system. Utilizing three totally different audio channels, the sculpture performs a dwell stream of the native NPR station, a relentless loop of a descending sine wave and a dial tone for a phone. Viewers are inspired to make use of dials to boost and decrease the amount of every audio channel.
On this work, hair is a vessel, each actually and metaphorically. Kai makes use of the three-dimensionality of the braids as a ceramicist would clay — shaping and morphing it — which emphasizes the very actual handiwork behind the intricate artwork of braiding Black hair. This sculptural piece is then used as a vessel via which sound is built-in, which lends itself to the thought of Black hair as a dwelling artwork type.
Turning the nook, the exhibition modifications path. Braid Can is far because the title describes. A severely battered metallic can, punctured with giant holes, rests on a pedestal, and out of the orifices emerge braids of hair which path down the perimeters of the can earlier than re-entering via different holes. The braids appear to inhabit the can just like the best way new life spawns from decaying natural matter; so, too, do these braids develop out from the can. Whereas a via line of vivification is current, this paintings facilities Black hair in a very totally different mild — as a dwelling natural type moderately than a constitutive vessel.
On the alternative wall hangs Double Dutch. Two arcs start from the identical origin, diverge, then reconverge. One arc is manufactured from metal, the opposite of wooden and acrylic beads, and every is bookended with the handles of soar ropes. The divergent nature of the 2 “ropes” circumscribes a big void on the gallery wall, as if one rope has been caught mid-flight, the opposite at relaxation.
Right here once more, the exhibition veers drastically. This paintings mimics a joyful schoolyard recreation of double Dutch, evoking reminiscences of kid’s play. The usage of beads on this piece supplies a visible connection to the lifelong look after Black hair that begins in childhood.
Whereas the number of paintings on this exhibition presents a testomony to the connotations and social constructs tied to Black hair, I discovered it troublesome to understand any deeper understanding past appreciation of the exhibit’s selection.
Traditionally, Black hair and Black hairstyles are sometimes judged and even vilified via microaggressions, unjust office insurance policies and socio-cultural constructs. In her artist assertion on the Day & Evening Initiatives web site, Nneka’s work is posited to confront problems with freedom and conformity via hair. When viewing this exhibition, I puzzled if the slew of connotations related to Black hair strengthened or weakened its significance?
I left this present wishing for a extra centered evaluation of Black hair, one which explores the intricacies of hair care observe and the historical past of its significance. Whereas pleasing to have a look at, I felt that this exhibition’s affect missed a chance to delve deeper into this matter.
::
Leia Genis is a trans artist and author at the moment primarily based in Atlanta. Her writing has been printed in Hyperallergic, Frieze, Burnaway, Artwork Papers and Quantity: Inc. journal. Genis is a graduate of the Savannah Faculty of Artwork and Design and can also be an avid bike owner with a contest historical past on the nationwide stage.