Braiding, Building, and Identity Formation

A procession of modes struts through the streets of Paris. Each of them dons a remarkable wig sculpture that mimics the shape of a famous urban building. Bright pink, forest green, black with orange edges these unconventional braided headdresses come in many different shapes and colours. Audiences stop and stare in curious wonder as the procession moves by.

This parade is not part of a high fashion event, no. It is performance art by acclaimed conceptual artist Meschac Gaba (b. 1961), who uses the quotidian act of hair braiding to tell stories about migration, commerce, identity, and cultural hybridity. Gaba was born in Cotonou, Benin, and currently lives there and in the Netherlands

The wig sculptures are part of a large body of work titled Tresses, which Gaba began in 2005 during a residency in New York City. Shaped in the form of iconic buildings from metropoles such as Johannesburg, Paris, Milan, London, Cotonou, Cape Town, and Rotterdam, the series consists of artworks made from synthetic hair extensions, commonly used today by Black communities around the world.

Even though they have been mounted on museum plinths, Gaba’s intention was for the sculptures to be wearable. In interviews, he has stated, “I have always looked at these wigs as a type of house, carried on the head.” As a result, during various iterations at major institutions such as the Studio Museum in Harlem, Johannesburg Art Gallery, and Institute of International Visual Arts, exhibitions have included performative elements in-volving models gloriously parading the wigs in public spaces. Thankfully, the invisible metal frames that inform the shape of the sculptures are not too heavy.

In 2015, ROM acquired one of Gaba’s whimsical wig sculptures, Milan Chateau d’Eau. Based on the title of this artwork, one can deduce that Gaba had used Château d’eau Garibaldi, a well-known water tower in Milan, to inform the construction of this piece.

Through artworks such as these, Gaba offers a critical view of how notions of belonging are formed today. Many cities have identifiable buildings that serve as monumental markers of specific moments in human history. Architectural monuments can foster a sense of collective nation building, community, or identity. They can also be reminders of both pleasant and painful histories.

Braiding can do the same thing. From ancient Nubia to today, Black and African hair and its associated tools have been used to uphold heritage. Throughout history, hair has been used to signify position in society for example, showing economic or relational status as well as societal values. Whether promoting civil rights or Pan-Africanism, hair has been used to show solidarity, stature, and pride. Braiding has even been used for mapping and archiving. Over time, in various places, like in the cities in which Tresses has been on view, hair salons and barber shops have been sites of knowledge pro-duction, sharing, and gathering. 

By combining Black hair braiding and architecture, Gaba also points to ideas around Afropolitanism. Just like in the act of braiding, Afropolitanism interlocks several philosophical strands, including multiplicity and interconnectedness. The term combines the words “African” and “cosmopolitanism” to point to how migration and globalization in post-colonial times have fostered a multicultural or hybrid way of being for people connected to Africa. Though the term is underpinned by recent histories, it doesn’t ignore more challenging pasts such as slavery and colonialism. Ideas around Afropolitanism became popular in the mid-2000s because of novelist Taiye Selasiand philosopher Achille Mbembe’s writing.

To make the Tresses series, Gaba borrowed from architecture that he had personally encountered from cities he had spent time in. This was intentionally done to emphasize that artists, architects, and stylists have always been informed by cultural experiences and visual cues from around the world. He re-minds us of the perpetual call and response between Africa and the African diaspora, a dynamic spurred on throughout time by trade, imperialism, and forced and voluntary migration. For example, a popular hairstyle in Harare today might be named after Barbadian American singer Rihanna, while a particular type of beaded cornrows in Toronto might be inspired by West African Fulani traditions. This is evident in Gaba’s statement from when he made his first group of Tresses in New York City: “The Tresses relate to the kind of work that people from West Africa were able to take with them and make a living from in America. These hairstyles have been embraced by American culture. To that, I wanted to add the optimistic imagery of skyscrapers, which are also about success and ambition.”

Gaba’s practice has contributed significantly to shaping contemporary African art discourse. If Gaba were to make a Toronto iteration of Tresses, I can’t help but wonder if he would make them in the shape of the CN Tower or maybe even our beloved Michael Lee-Chin Crystal building here at ROM.

Tandazani Dhlakamais Curator of Global Africa at ROM