For multidisciplinary artist Jessica Soares, beauty standards start with one’s hair. The 33-year-old, a self-taught artist, with a background in Marketing from Redeemer’s University, has since become a passionate voice that encourages people, particularly women, to embrace their beauty. Her compelling recent debut exhibition, tagged ‘Who We Are When The Glory is Gone’, held at Rele Gallery, Lagos, delves into the profound emotional and artistic journey of as she wrestles alopecia—a condition characterised by hair thinning and loss. Soares lives with this condition which she inherited from her mother. Through her creative voice, she speaks on her journey and more. EVELYN OSAGIE writes
Beauty: Why is alopecia such an issue
It is important because hair is important to every woman. Imagine you having to deal with the thought of losing your hair all the time compared to others who have healthy hair. You go to the salon and you’d hear sad remarks about your hair. Hair is a very important aspect of beauty. Beauty standards start with your hair.
Beauty to me
The world has projected beauty to be of a certain standard. Even if you don’t have hair, some people will ask you ‘When are you going to grow your hair?’ Some men even think that not having hair is about you just wanting to be dominating, be in control of the man. There are different myths around not having hair that many people are still battling with.
Hair, for me, is celebratory. If I have hair, I am very happy. I try to do what I can with it knowing that in the next few weeks, I may not have them. If I don’t have them, it is still fine for me. It is a win or lose situation. I am happy when I have it and when I don’t; I am doing whatever I can. I am coming to an acceptance with it and there will be a day that I will completely go bald because there is nothing left to keep.
Relationship of a woman to her hair
The woman’s hair is a crowning glory. In Yoruba, it is called ‘Eleda’ or ‘Ori Ade.’ People would see hair as what defines a woman. Imagine you being without your crown, who are you as a person.That is why I ask the question, “Who Are We When the Glory is Gone?’ Does that make me less of a woman? Does that make me less beautiful? That is where all that was coming from.
My journey
It has been very good. I suffered from the condition so this is just me documenting my experience and what I have been going through since I was a child. I inherited the condition from my mother and my mother also inherited it from her mother. It is hereditary.
My mother often wore wigs to conceal her hair loss, opposing wearing scarves, the more appropriate option. My grandmother also hid her hair beneath scarves, becoming a mystery as people never saw her without her head covered. I wish I could have told her before she passed. It had a name and it was okay. Although my hair played a profound role in my life because of hereditary alopecia, I only discovered the name and nature of her condition in 2020 during the pandemic, when my hair suddenly fell out again.
This transformative moment compelled me to delve deeper into my research on the health condition, reshaping my perspective and inspiring my art. I shifted from wishing for voluminous hair to embracing vulnerability, a pivotal step I took at the Rele Art Foundation in 2021. My art became a canvas for documenting my journey, from childhood experiences to evolving self-perception and strategies for life with alopecia.
My research findings
During my research, I found that the male folks also suffer from alopecia. It is not just for children. The male suffers. There are different kinds of alopecia: some affect the back of the head, some right in the middle or in the front. Some men don’t really care whether they have hair or not.
My art journey
Having no formal training about art, I went ahead to learn to develop and build her works through different mediums of art. I nurtured my passion into pursuing art as a full time job, studying and creating with different styles and techniques to finally find that one unique style that differentiates me and truly tells my story
My works express/show my love for hair and the struggles I faced having to grow hair as a child. My creative drive for art grew from story books; my grandma would encourage me by always making me makeshift tracing papers (using cooking oil and plain paper).
In 2021, I was selected to be part of the Rele Arts Foundation Young Contemporaries Residency and have gone on to take part in the group exhibition ‘Good Things Come In Threes’, (2022), Rele Gallery, Los Angeles, as well solo exhibition ‘Who We Are When The Glory Is Gone’ (2023) Rele Gallery, Lagos.
My exhibition beyond the human hair
My works draw from personal experiences in exploring the complexities and social notions around women’s hair in contemporary society. Combining drawing and painting techniques, my feature elaborately detailed figures swathed in colourful fabrics. My works also utilise the Adire fabric in exploring issues of legacy and familial bond. I want people to be able to relate and see themselves in it as well in different areas of their lives. This is about expectations and the things people are going through as individuals. The times with hair are moments of vibrant expression, while my thinning patches symbolise life’s cycles, prompting me to cut her hair. I can be vulnerable enough to define myself this way. Even if it’s not hair you’re dealing with, just know that it doesn’t define you. With my works, I just don’t want to talk about hair alone. I want to talk about different things bothering women that are not able to speak about. I will be their voice and use my art to speak about it.
My connection with the exhibition curator, Wana Udobang
Udobang played a vital role in creating my exhibition. It was much more than curatorial passion for her. We met during the Young Contemporary Art that we had last year at the National Museum. She suffered alopecia, which led her to shave her hair as well; so, it was more or less a deep connection for her and she just wanted the show because it tells her story as well. It was more or less a match made in heaven.
On my installation that looks like a salon
Due to what I am experiencing, going to the salon has been a lot for me because people are constantly asking me about my hair and it was always a problem for me. I would rather stay at home and have people. I am a very shy person and probably always the last to leave the salon because I didn’t want people to see my hair. Growing up, I just found comfort in the home service for my hair.This is like the home service set up in my house and this is called ‘Jessica Salon.’
Inspiration behind my exhibition
I intend to bring more awareness into the situation and to let people know that it is not okay to think that women without hair are not enough or not beautiful enough. This is to make people be comfortable with whatever they are going through and not let a condition define you. The truth of the matter is that you are still beautiful in and out. You should not let the world project whatever they see on you. I see myself taking the campaign outside the country. I want to speak more on it and be more elaborate on it.
Credit: Thenation
