After a year of snapping a photo of myself every day — a literal self-reflection. I was feeling engaged and invigorated with the creative spirit! And I was also totally burnt out. I wanted to continue to explore, to challenge myself, but I needed something less time consuming. So, my next project was simple — do nothing.
Born out of pure curiosity after shaving my head, I decided to estrange myself from my barber and let my hair grow and grow and grow without a single buzz, snip or chop. As the days passed, I watched myself transform. My hair silently testifying on my passage through life, one millimeter at a time.
A year later I saw my past visualized, a timeline of the days long gone sitting on top of my head. This hair is a reflection of someone I used to be. That person, like the hair, is dead yet both still connected to something living.
Near the end, looking at how long my hair had grown, as I felt more connected to my sense of self, I wondered, What if I had never cut my hair ever? Besides the obvious inconvenience, how amazing would it be to have a piece of your past always with you, to see your life reflected in your personal appearance? What can we do to hang on to the past? Should we even try?
Later, as my hair was put under the guillotine and fell to the floor, I sat there melancholy, staring at my last 365 days. A product of me. Now gone. Soon forgotten. Literal history.
Comments:
Michelle
I am kind of bummed, i was hoping for something more epic. But this was interesting none the less. Question, did you not shave as well, obviously i can see the progression but with how fast your hair grows on your head i am surprised there wasn’t more of a beard. And no, i don’t think we should hang on to the past. Remember it yes but not hang on to it. It is funny to think about your hair in connection with your past, when i get to a point i need a change that is when i chop my hair off…Lord knows i did it enough in college…when you put it that way, i guess i can see that i was in a way trying to cut off my past a bit. And on a materialistic note, i like month 9 the best but i think it is the glasses more than the hair.
