Barber Shop Series (Phrenology)

The Barber Shop Series (Phrenology) is the artist’s visual commentary on Black male identity in the context of Politics, Art, History and contemporary popular culture

The works in this series engage the cultural significance of the Black barber shop in African American life as the source material for my creative process and the language of my conceptual thesis. Each work in the series is composed of individual original mixed-media 8’ x 10” collage drawings on paper, framed and grouped together in a grid.

The grid format of the finished art piece is based on the iconic hair style posters found on the walls of these establishments, that simultaneously evokes athletic team rosters, a Black business board of directors, a rap concert line-up, and a police database.

 Each profile in the grid features a single abstracted image of a Black male figure seated in a barber’s chair, dressed with a Sanek neck strip, and draped in a protective cape. In the barber’s chair, every man is king, every man is icon. Every man is the G.O.A.T. and the Playoffs VIP.

This flexible template is designed to unify each profile into a shared framework that emphasizes the potency of numbers, with much respect for the eloquence of the Self.

The overall vibe of the Barbershop Phrenology Series is a shoutout to the radical cool of the Black Panthers, Marvel Comics superheroes, the polished marble busts of ancient Roman generals and the urbane elegance of 70’s Black haircare ads in the pages of Ebony magazine. The mood of the art synthesizes the jazzy cool expressed in blue notes by Miles, and in living color by Romare Bearden- with the stuntin’ audacity of Hip Hop impresarios and Homeboys on the block.