BRAIDINGS is a series made from Awassi sheepskins whose wool is divided and braided; the size and composition of each work develop from the particular shape and density of the individual skin.
The works emerged through a chain of relations linking shepherding, wool, hairdressing, migration and handwork. Braiding, a social and bodily practice associated with human hair, is transferred onto the pelt of a close domestic relative. The skins were worked in collaboration with Tsedel Mamo Gebr, an Ethiopian hair stylist and salon owner based in Beirut, whose knowledge of braiding became part of the making process.
The works emerged through a chain of relations linking shepherding, wool, hairdressing, migration and handwork. Braiding, a social and bodily practice associated with human hair, is transferred onto the pelt of a close domestic relative. The skins were worked in collaboration with Tsedel Mamo Gebr, an Ethiopian hair stylist and salon owner based in Beirut, whose knowledge of braiding became part of the making process.
