Supported by East Street Arts, Art Council England and Leeds Inspired, Selina rooted herself in the Chapeltown area of Leeds’ salons and beauty shops from August 2013 to ask the community directly about Afro hair: its politics, connotations and what it tells us about being Black, British and young in the UK.
Dark and Lovely opened from Saturday 15th February 2014 (for a week of performances), with an installation in the Union 105 gallery featuring a giant ‘tumble weave’ crafted from weaves and extensions (prominent in Afro hair styles), which hid a barber’s chair in the centre of the room. Visitors were encouraged to put their hands through the structure to feel various hidden textures.
The rest of the space was adorned with objects and mementos from Selina’s family home, bringing her own personal experience and context to the discussion. The complexities of this debate were dynamically explored using recorded conversations, music, written text and the ball of hair itself.
Over the course of 40 minutes, in a process described as “a little bit gross” Selina transformed the tumble weave into something beautiful and profound, transcending the weight of the connotations placed on it.
Becoming a national touring solo show Dark & Lovely was a marked success featuring locally on BBC Radio Leeds’ Breakfast Show and Look North, and gaining national recognition in the Guardian and the Independent.
Other things!
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Commission
Decoder joins Guild with virtual residency 'Transition'
DECODER is an LGBTQIA+ artist-led organisation based in Cornwall (First est. as The Penthouse in Manchester 2012), led by...
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Artist support
Artists Commissioned for a new Art Hostel on Mabgate, Leeds
The Art Hostel will open its doors in April 2021.
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Neighbours
Shaping the Neighbourhood Forum in 2021
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Discussions
East Street Arts Recommends
Our Artistic Director Karen Watson recommends a series of books that she has read recently and discusses their consistent thread of how we can do better as a society.
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History
Past show: The Reality of Small Differences @ Inkwell Arts and Union 105
In response to the inaccessibility of a Grayson Perry tapestry exhibition at Temple Newsam, Leeds this exhibition of...
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Event
Guild Conversations: Artists and Data
Data expert Reema Vadoliya introduces three sessions about how artists and creative organisations can use data.