Hair Sanctuary at Socrates Park

“Built with commonly found cinder blocks around a water feature, African American Marbleization-An Act of Civil Disobedience: Hair Sanctuary provides a place for reflection and conversation. The installation’s use of fine porcelain clay elements elevates this personal and intimate subject matter to a cherished and hallowed realm. The collaborative sculpture features hair picks and accompanying audio stories narrating a range of gendered and radicalized experiences, many celebrating hair and hair care as a kind of sanctuary.”

Yvonne Shortt, Kelly Li, and I began investigating how Cinder Blocks could transform urban spaces and house the sculptures Yvonne was creating in her “African Marbleization Series”. Cinder Blocks litter our urban environment. They are cheap open forms that are readily available, but because they are so common place their potential as a creative object is often overlooked. As we experiment with Cinder Blocks we hope to transform them into place makers in the urban environment, creating new paradigms of community space, and inspiring others to do they same. The Hair Sanctuary at Socrates is one outcome of our explorations into cinder blocks as a way to curate Yvonne’s series.

Here is a link to the details of the exhibit on Socrates Sculpture Park’s website: https://socratessculpturepark.org/artist/yvonne-shortt-jenna-boldebuck-kelly-li/