Slavs and Tatars
Irokez

2014, dichroic glass, tinned copper, 30 x 10 x 17 cm

The daily taming of hair is an act of civilization, bat­tling the frizzy and curly unruliness of the body. In this sense the rituals of daily existence, such as com­bing one’s hair, echo as objects the coun­sel of the Mir­rors for Prin­ces genre of medieval advice literature. Grooming has also under­gone an increased profanization in recent cen­turies; once a sacred, ritual prac­tice, today it is often a mere cosmetic trans­ac­tion or at best a tribal, gen­dered belon­ging.

 

Read more in the "Mirrors for Princes" book by Slavs and Tatars