MEETING SAMSON

Project Overview

An exploration of Masculinity and an encounter with the self through the medium of hair

Throughout millennia of history and accross all cultures, one of the most visible individualistic expressions of the human condition has been through hair.
Styled and cultivated by both genders equally, braided or loose, long or cropped, cared for and cherished, often even worshipped, hair was a marker of status, social and cultural position.

Merovingian kings with cut hair could not rule, the braided Manchu queue compulsory under the Qing Dynasty, the chupryna of Ukrainian Cossacks at war.
Slaves, prisoners and enemies were shaved as a sign of shame and suppression, most strikingly displayed by the biblical story of Samson and Delilah. With his super natural power vested in his long locks, Samson can only be captured by the deceitful cutting of his hair.

How is it then that long hair, especially worn by men, is looked upon as weak and “feminine” in contemporary western society?
“Feminine” used here as a derogative attribute, seemingly meaning the opposite of masculine, powerful and strong.

In these times of examining toxic masculinity and the impact of patriarchal systems, I aim to question these norms once more on my journey from the outside form to the shapeless essence inside.
To our strength, to our core. Through the medium of hair!

Meeting Samson is my starting point to examine hair as a carrier of power, a universal non- gendered strength that is found within each of us and use it as a vessel to question beauty standards, gender roles and prejudice based on individual personal choice of hairstyle.

Motivation and Process

Long hair has always fascinated me...
The sensuality, the movement, the flow of thousands of strands combined into a sea of ornament.
It was always a passion of mine to care for it, to style it.

As a Dancer it helped me exaggerate movement, it moved on its own, it gave momentum. But as a Model it was tamed, styled, restricted. So in time my mind hardened, judged and conformed to the idea of short hair as an instrument of gender norm and constructs of beauty.

With the slow down through Corona Lockdown it created space and time for me to

reconnect with this intimate passion of mine.
Reconnect with the Artist inside, reconnect with a dream.
A Dream of Long hair.
Longer than it was acceptable for a man to wear, longer than our beauty standards demand, almost longer than naturally possible.
It had to be extreme, it had to make a point.

I started this project searching for hair that could carry this meaning, hair that is rarer than I ever imagined.
Hair longer than a meter, without dye, never chemically treated.
The hair had to be a realistic expression of my own hair in order to make this project authentic.

Known as “Russian gold” it took months of research and patience to acquire.

Through the process of researching this hair, I found a hair artist - Sebastian Chohan - who turned this valuable and utterly rare material into a wig moulded to the shape of my head. Ventilated strand by strand for 4 months to result in the most realistic imitation of real hair, turning it into a piece of sculpted art.

Handcrafted perfection of this natural crown.

Project Aims and Future

What at first seemed a stand alone project has evolved into the first step on a voyage of discovery.

The initial journey of making a wig and shooting a photo story sparked an exploration of self, as a gay man, in a society of unrealistic ideas and pressures to be and look a certain way. With hair being the connective tissue between dream and reality, male and female, classical artists and contemporary art, past and future, me and you.

Contemplating a caricature and a true image of fluidity and space to expand as an independent human being.

Meeting Samson is the first of a series multi platform artistic explorations challenging how I see myself as a human being and as an artist.
It is the manifestation of what hair means to me as a reflection of the essence of life, the question of self, of gender and of the truth within.