Nice to meet you. I am Silvia, 26 years old and I live in the heart of Amsterdam. At the Gerrit Rietveld Academy I follow the direction Voorleden Audiovisual, also popularly referred to as VAV. I am involved in many forms of art. Performance, video, fashion, painting, writing. Enjoying all kinds of media. Delicious.
Nice to meet you.
I am Silvia, 26 years old and I live in the heart of Amsterdam.
At the Gerrit Rietveld Academy I follow the direction Formerly Audiovisual,
also popularly referred to as VAV. I am involved in many forms of art.
Performance, video, fashion, painting, writing. Enjoying all kinds of media. Delicious.
So. I'm a black woman and I study art.
It is more than logical to me to link the questions I ask myself to my work.
Why does my Afro hair have to be chemically processed to achieve the European ideal?
Why is it that so many black women who are natural don't know what to do with their hair?
Why are natural women looked at askance by the 'relaxed' ladies and vice versa?
Is fake hair a secret?
How did this phenomenon develop?
All these questions led to my research project called BLACK ROOTS.
BLACK ROOTS is about the meaning of hair for a black woman.
The work is manifesting itself in different forms.
Drawings, a short documentary, photography, thoughts.
In December 2009 I shaved myself bald, everything off.
And now I have a short afro and sometimes I wear an afro wig. With pride.
I have tried everything on my hair and now I use water with glycerin and sometimes a little castor oil.
I have only relaxed my hair three times in the past but I was addicted to long straight hair.
Nicely blowing in the wind. But at the same time stressed whether it was credible enough.
I have a straight wig lying around somewhere, but when I put it on I see how fake it is.
The instant realization that it was never meant to look like this.
In a nice hair shop on the Albert Cuyp there is a SALE OFF bin.
Featuring beautiful afro fake hair.
I made a wig out of it and it's the closest I can get to my own hair.
It is the cheapest fake hair.
So I have to pay more to achieve the opposite of my appearance?
It is paradoxical, I am right in the middle of it and that is precisely why it is interesting to zoom in on this phenomenon.
The images of the Black Power Movement and all those big afros.
It gives me goosebumps.
These people were sincere and have contributed a lot to our position today.
But why are most black women in 2011 so afraid to show their true colors?
I always try to accept everyone, no matter what their hair is like.
Relaxed, afro natural, dreadlocks. It remains a choice.
But I'm black and I have an afro. It was always meant to look like that.
Warm greetings,
Silvia
Black Roots Trailer from silvia martes on Vimeo .