Multi Sensory
Cross Disciplinary
Exploratory
Performance
Wellness
Hair Art Research
Over the past 5 years, Ash Di Va and the Eye Am Hair salon have been collaboraing on intersections of hair dressing and art installation+performance. Their work has featured at MONA FOMA, Parkade and has blossomed a cult following during the Dark Mofo season.
The events have recreated the salon as a powerful creative space for inner and outer shifts. Exploring concepts of intimacy, sensory composition, wellness, and metamorphosis.
These momentary salon experinces are labs for cultural experimentation.
Terhairium
A rainforest come hair salon at MONA FOMA 2019. Experimenting with the biophila experience on a multi sensory level.
The work explored the effect of plants on physical, emotional and psychological levels. It provided participants different sensations that stimulated the experience of biophila, while getting their hair cut or styled. An array of plant life was gathered with permission and set within the salon. On a physical level, the 30-40 plants created changes to the oxygen and humidity levels, creating an inner and outer body experience whilst also stimunlating the visial sense. There was also a multi channel soundscape of field recordings a of forest scapes and ocean scapes.
To take the work further, we incorporated actions during the hairdressing services that continued to build upon and explore the biophilla experience. This included silence between hairdresser and participant to allow for a deeper sensory experience, a copal tree resin smoking (an act of purification and connection that was has used in many ancient tradtions from around the world), a tea offering, a misting of water and a totem of nature to be held throughout the experience.
Submissive Salon
I-II-III
The Submissive Salon events are unique sensory and emotion journey. A space to let go be physical dominated without sexual connitations.
An independent event that drew inspiration from Dark Mofo atmosphere and mid winter celebration. The work was about letting go of control. Hair, body and senses were consented to hairdressers and masseurs. Not a sexual tease or deep pain exploration, but a sensory and psychological dive into what a stranger can do with to the participants body. Hands could be bound, mouth and eye’s covered, varying degrees of touch with ice and feathers used. Given along side a massage, haircut or style without a mirror.
An installation of sound and lighting was curated to heighten the mood and energy for all involved in the events. Music from an Industrial, high energy, sombre and dirty electronic pumped inside. While dark ambient soundscapes were created for outside the event where enchanted voyeurs witnessed the teasing and testing of masked participants.
In its second and third interations, the concept developed and ramped up. Whether it was conscious or not, the hairdressers and masseurs took their role as performance artists to another level. The experience of the participants were generally ecstatic and the atmosphere around the event was buzzing throughout the festival.
Sub Salon III Interviews
COMING SOON
SUB SALON III EVENT VIDEO DOCUMENTAION
Sensory Salon
coming sooon
Interviews Bites
COMING SOON
4th wall audio excerpt
COMING SOON
Silent Salon
Hairdressing service come sensory deprivation performance work for the Mona Foma 2018
Minimal visabilty, 8 hour playlist which included new ambient compositions and tracks from other artists for a varied genre selection. The idea to take the clients and hairdressers into a calming and deeper place while they delved into a trancedental hairdressing sensory and creative experience.
Experimenting with the ambient listening to break and come home to. Finding the right degrees of changes in the playlist to allow for a diverse group of artists while maintaining a steady forward movement of mood in the salon. In my own recordings I created an expression of constant movement with minimal phrase development and no sequential melodic writing,. Going with a process of random selection, using recordings from a number of rehearsals I did for a show in 2017, sorting through and choosing parts that I thought were interesting and then editing the pieces together, matching and mixing until the final product was produced. Then fitting in deep ambinet and jarring numbers to keep participants on a journey of peace and uncertainty.
Participants generally welcomed to the letting go to the river of experince, and was a pleasure at the our first appearrance within a progessive arts and music festival..
