This is what I say to hostile critics who think hair art shouldn’t be classified as art and see no value in it: “You need to experience the process; then, you’ll understand why it is art; the details, patience, symmetry, and time put into the operation shows you why it should be respected.”
There is more to hairstyling that meets the eye. Many people style their hair to look and feel good—just that, nothing else. But storytellers like Nikiwe are disrupting the status quo.
Nikiwe Dlova is a hair artist from Diepkloof in South Africa. She produces creative hairstyles, headpieces, and artwork using synthetic hair extensions, wool, fabric, and beads amongst others). Nikiwe is fervently driven by the impetus to tell visual stories she doesn’t take for granted.
Nikiwe urges us to own our crown with pride. Nikiwe’s art wasn’t born yesterday. She has been able to accrue national and international acclaim because of the originality of her work. Design Ndaba spotlighted her as an emerging creative in hair artistry.
Her work has been featured on the cover page of Glamour magazine. She was one of the creatives Instagram chose to run the ‘Share Black Stories' campaign, and her headpieces were featured in Beyonce’s Black is King Film. In this interview, Nikiwe transports us into her world of hair artistry. She talks about all things creativity, culture, and hair expression.
Full interview availabe now in “The Essence of Creativity” Click here
