Material Culture
© Thandiwe MuriuEvery morning women have rituals they follow, a spritz of perfume and a swipe of red lipstick that they follow from beauty culture refined by generations before them, who have done the same. In the same way, the ritual of tying a headwrap is a beautifying process that Africa women have been perfecting and passing on from mother to daughter.
As a child, I would watch my own mother with fascination as she draped printed fabric around her hair in an elaborate design in preparation for special events; transforming a humble piece of fabric into a magnificent piece of art.
Material Culture is an exploration of the practice of covering our heads to beautify ourselves. No two headwraps are ever the same - each pair of hands always add their own flare and twist to the long strip of fabric used.
By tying a headwrap, every African woman adorns herself with the equivalent of a regal coronet that draws the viewer's gaze upwards in the same way a crown does for a queen.
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