My personal experiences, particularly those related to my hair, have directly inspired this work titled "Growth." As a young girl, I vividly remember my mother's nightly ritual of brushing my long hair, twisting and curling it into pinwheel-like rolls, and securing them with bobby pins. While this ritual allowed my mother to touch and care for me lovingly, my hair also a served as a tool of vengeance when my father exerted his power by deciding to cut my hair. This decision, a manifestation of adult conflicts, left a deep imprint on me. I learned that my hair served as a protective curtain behind which I could hide my feelings; whether a bully was pulling it, brushing it with one hundred strokes each night, or having it abruptly cut away one summer, it helped shape my experiences.
Reclaimed cotton fiber, steel, 28 x 56 x 56”, 2012
