Year of the Hair

"Year of the Hair" is a multi-faceted project focusing on hair. The project takes place in select store windows throughout the city. The intention is to create a set of intricately- related events which can bring contemporary performance and art to the attention of a broader spectrum of the public.

The overall style of the installation is minimal and organic, with simple, clean, curves and lines. All figures are fully made-up to appear slightly unnatural, reminiscent of store mannequins. The quality of the movement is extreme slow motion, so that the passing public needs a moment to realise that these “mannequins“ are real people. Subtle variations in rhythm and movement quality attract the attention of passers-by.

There is one female figure who has long hair attached to the wall somewhere in the space. There is a figure standing and caught in the motion of shaking her head, so that her hair spins out horizontally and stays there. Her pubic hair weaves down her legs and out into the floor, giving the general impression of a tree whose roots are firmly planted. Another person is on all fours, with long hair which reaches up towards the roof, is wrapped around a plexiglass rod and weaves itself into a birds' nest in which a bird sits.

Public response to this project was overwhelming. Passersby took a great deal of time trying to figure out if the dancers were real or not. The project instigated public discussions and exchange as well as one or 2 traffic jams.

Artists

Concept: Zoë Knights
Models/ Dance: Rotraud Kern, Anna Müller, Julia Schwarzbach
Photography: Pilo Pichler
Makeup, Hair, Wigs: Michaela Frieser
Wigs: Zoë Knights
Production: Klaudia Gründl de Keijzer, Elfriede Eberhard

Supported by: Stadt Salzburg Kultur, Land Salzburg Kultur, BMUKK

Performances to Date

Installation project for galleries and store fronts
Premiere: March 2008