‘Comfort Hair’ by Yuni Kim Lang explores cultural identity and growth
The bigger your hair the better right? That is the idea behind the ‘Gache’ a type of wig that was worn in Korea as a way of showing high-class. Yuni Kim Lang, who was born in Seoul, Korea, and now is based in Michigan, and was inspired by this obsession with large and heavy wigs and outcome her live sculpture work titled ‘Comfort Hair.’
The hair in the sculpture is often mistaken for some kind of fancy rope from Korea but is actually just an ordinary rope that Lang found at a local hardware store. She was able to manipulate the rope and make it look more luscious and beautiful than it was. Yuni used this work to explore her own cultural identity, being born in Korea, growing up in China, and later moving to the United States, Yuni had questions she needed to be answered and ‘Comfort Hair’ represents this constant search for understanding. During her performance with the wig, you see Yuni remove or “shed” the hair away showcasing her growth beyond where she is from but who she has become and is still growing to be.
“My vision was to see hair in the way we fantasize about it. The dead hair that we imagine to be full of life. It is the part of the body that has no nerves or muscles but has movements and rhythm that feel alive. When you cut it off there is no pain and it does not bleed. Yet, we perceive it as a sacred entity, where many cultures in history have preserved hair. I fantasize about my hair. It stands in for my cultural identity which is becoming an organism that continues to grow and prosper.” – Yuni Kim Lang (via Juxtapoz)
Sources: https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/yuni-kim-lang-s-comfort-hair-sculpture/
Visit Yuni’s website here and her Instagram here.
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