In Passing

In Passing

‘IN PASSING’ is a collection of six small sculptures made using my own post-chemo hair. The immediacy of the materials: hair, bits of silk cord, failed bokashi prints and clay, coupled with the use of symbolism, metaphor and pun, aim to convey the intimate fear of a future missed, wasted potential and the curious, unsettling sense of bereavement when forced to face your own mortality.

A lock of hair is a common post mortem keepsake. As a material, it’s both delicate and strong and while it appears to be living it is in fact dead. These dualities imbue hair with a spiritual or magical quality and as an element of the self - that takes longer (if ever) to decay than flesh and bone - it’s a perfect object of remembrance.

I started making the sculptures in response to renewed hair loss (due to treatment), in part to amuse myself, because it’s upsetting, and as a means of curating my own legacy in advance. The objects were made with felting needles so the stabbing technique was both cathartic and vengeful!