HAIR POLITICS: AN EXAMINATION OF THE AESTHETICS OF BLACK FEMALE HAIR IN THE WORK OF SELECT AFRICAN ARTISTS

December 2019

The aim of this dissertation is to discuss artistic renditions pertinent to hair and hairstyles of black women of African descent. The dissertation references and discusses artworks by selected South African, American and Zimbabwean artists, namely Gavin Jantjes, Tracey Rose, Zanele Muholi, Lorna Simpson, Stephen Hobbs and Marcus Neustetter as well as Nontsikelelo Mutiti, as they challenge ideas calcified through visual culture in order to counter the negative narratives associated with blackness and black hair.