To accompany Bharti Parmar's site-specific work for the Aedas Studio, "Shag": a shagpile carpet made from human hair, Aedas Presents held an exclusive invitation only breakfast talk last week.
Following a short informal presentation of the background of "Shag" by the artist, we held a conversation on the social and cultural issues that this work raises. A total of 17 attendees joined us at this event from various disciplines ranging from theatre, anthropology, science and architecture.
Bharti also showed us a video of part of her inspiration - Zoran Todorovic,‘Warmth’. Large quantities of industrial type sheets-blankets, produced from human hair leaving the ‘imprint of hundreds of Serbian people’.
The event proved to be an interesting, insightful and enjoyable start to the day.
Key themes included:
· Hair – structural/sculptural quality
· Memory stimulated through love tokens – mourning jewellery (18th/19th century), sentimentality.
· Paradox of hair, it is dead yet conjures up images of a living person.
· Hair- self/identity
· Site-specific, challenge of exhibiting within an office environment.
· ‘Shag’, a substitution- green rug/hair rug. Derived from surrealist movement.
· Disgust and desire.
· Cool corporate environment, disrupt the space with slightly ‘taboo’ elements.
· The process/origins of the hair (European expensive, most asian hair cheaper)
The show will remain at Colmore Plaza until the end of May. To arrange a visit please email: aedaspresents@aedas.com.
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Follow us on Twitter: @AedasPresents
Aedas Presents is supported by Arts Council England.
