2004.
Hairpiece is a participatory installation that examines aesthetics, high and low art, and public/private space. For this project a hairdresser was hired to style and trim gallery visitors' hair. People were allowed to get a free haircut so long as they were willing to describe publically what they wanted to look like. Intensely personal experience. In the gallery setting onlookers are able to hear the participants talk about how they want their hair styled. Because there is no mirror just a frame, a spectacle is staged where the onlookers effectively place the participant into a formal frame where a mirror would normally have sat. In each case the participants verbally articulate how they want to perceived by others, in a way revealing their persona. Onlookers are privy to this intimate self-disclosure; an act that requires someone make that which is usually private into something very public.