Africa-Asia 3 ConFest

The global photography of hair, from the iconic images of Irving Penn and Jürgen Schadeberg to everyday scenes in salons, reveals complex histories and identities woven into diasporic hair practices. Salons serve as spaces of cultural exchange and transformation, housing universal tools like clippers, chairs, and synthetic hair, yet they operate as unique environments of self-expression and cultural significance. In these spaces, individuals make intentional choices about self-presentation, engaging with representations of the “Other” that are at once constructed, reinforced, and challenged. By photographing the architecture, styles, and routines within salons, we gain insight into the relationship between personal identity and communal space, allowing for a deeper understanding of how individuals navigate identity through these settings.
This poster explores how the braid—especially in Shanghai salons that offer locs, braids, and styles with synthetic fibers like Kanekalon—functions as a significant ideological and aesthetic “glitch.” Beyond its material role, Kanekalon carries a layered, transnational history. Originally developed in Japan, Kanekalon has become a staple in diasporic hairstyling practices worldwide. This synthetic fiber embodies a journey of cultural adaptation and hybridization, shifting from a Japanese invention to a material intrinsically tied to Black hair traditions. In Shanghai, the use of Kanekalon in braided styles introduces a complex cultural blend, expanding the local hair norms and evoking a global narrative of identity and resistance. Through photography, these braided styles encapsulate a layered intersection of local and global influences, prompting audiences to rethink traditional boundaries of identity, aesthetics, and cultural belonging in contemporary salon spaces.

Photographing Kanekalon: Art and Identity Through the Salon Lens

Presenter(s)