EMILY LANCTOT
FREE HAIR CUTS: HOMAGE TO THE PINK CLOUD
For this performance I provided free haircuts for museum visitors during an exhibition opening.
Each participant signed a waiver and answered a number of questions related to the work and themselves. Participants were asked, What brought you here today? When was your first visit to the museum? Do you remember your first haircut? Aiming to understand each participant’s relationship to their hair, I asked each participant for specific details regarding how they wish their hair to be cut.
The work explores what motivates people to accept non-essential service for free? What’s in a bargain? What motivates people to maintain a certain hairstyle, or deviate from a specific grooming regime? Is it ritualistic? I am interested in exploring the risks that people take with something that seems so intrinsic to their identity. Trust plays a large part in how the work manifests.