The Harvest 

2021

Hair, copper, video installation
Video in collaboration with Loora Kaubi

 

The deep personal connection between women and their hair runs through history, myth, philosophy, and religion. In my research into old wedding traditions, I discovered many rituals centered around hair.

One of the most symbolic was the donning of the headdress—a key moment marking a woman's transition into marriage. The headdress, worn from then on, often represented obedience and the loss of personal freedom. In many cultures, brides also had their hair cut short, based on the belief that a woman’s power resided in her hair. The motivation behind this gesture becomes clear.

 

These rites, now seen as violations of bodily autonomy, echo in the present through the continued fetishisation and regulation of women’s body hair. Hair remains a gendered battleground—subject to public debate, policing, and stigma. In many ways, our hair is no longer just ours; it has become part of an open conversation, as if the world is entitled to weigh in.