Parlor Project Short - video documentary
2006-2007
This is one work from the larger “Parlor Project” that reveals some of the intimate interactions that occur within small neighborhood beauty parlors. Warmth, tenderness and nostalgia are woven into the spaces of these parlors, which are so often located within aged storefronts, tucked into neighborhoods, or hidden in strip malls.
I am fascinated by the activities that occur inside these spaces – colors, objects and people who inhabit them and the unique intimacy that is framed by curlers, hairdryers, graying hair and the beauty of wrinkled hands. Within the seemingly simple act of the weekly routine of getting a roller set is a much larger impact of the interaction and relationships fostered here.
This compilation of video clips shows these lovely women as they are, in their own voices, in a space they are simultaneously vulnerable, yet comfortable.