How much can one do with their hair?
Laetitia Ky from Cote d’Ivoire, her hair has been her art point. She sculptures her long, pencil-thin locs hair into playful and humorous images. From bunny ears to glasses and most recently, she draw attention to the #MeToo campaign against sexual harassment — by sculpting her hair into the image of a man lifting a woman’s skirt.
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To her, her hair is her best friend and essentially an extended part of herself that finishes her sentences, grows with her and assists any creative project she imagines.
She uses her elaborate hair sculptures to emphasize black women’s natural beauty, which she feels is undervalued in the realms of fashion and entertainment.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZmHjSlHJvX/?taken-by=laetitiaky
In an interview with Okay Africa, Ky recalls how her mother braided her hair while she was young and how she learnt to do her hair.
“My mom taught me when I was very young (4 or 5). I loved the way she used to braid and I wanted to learn how to do it,” she said. “But I think it was a talent that was always within me, because according to her I learned in no time. I quickly mastered the art though I was only a baby!”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXVAsrIla8L/?taken-by=laetitiaky
Ky says she was inspired to use hairstyling as a means of expression after coming across an Instagram album of hairstyles women used to wear in some African tribes prior to colonization.
The 21-year-old Ivorian hopes to use her hairstyles to show that celebrating one’s uniqueness shouldn’t be viewed negatively and one should always strive to express oneself.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVBMyVVlju1/?taken-by=laetitiaky
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