Artist’s gray hair, black silk, and embroidery hoop
6” diameter | 15 cms diameter
This is an ongoing life project I started when I turned 33 years old. Being faced with the dilemma between starting to color my hair or letting grow my gray hairs, I decided instead to embroider each year my corresponding age on black silk using my gray hairs.
One of my favorite aspects of this series is the transformation that the piece brought me. After 2-3 years of this meditative act of embroidery I’ve accepted having gray hair and made peace with that. I let my gray hair grow and don’t need to pluck it anymore, I just collect the hair that I shed daily while brushing or taking a shower.
Yaniv, Etty. “Jessica Lagunas: With Every Fiber at Pelham Art Center.” ArtSpiel, April 7, 2021
Meditations on Hair,
Hall of Fame Art Gallery (Online)
Bronx Community College, Bronx, NY
March 10-April 30, 2021
(extended through May 21, 2021)
Serie “Por siempre joven” (“Forever Young” Series)
#33 to #48
Artist’s gray hair, black silk, and embroidery hoop
#47 Timelapse
Serie “Por siempre joven” (“Forever Young” Series)
#47 Front and Back
Artist’s gray hair, black silk, and tape
Meditations on Hair: Por siempre joven / Forever Young
Video for Bronx Community College
3 minutes 11 seconds
Hair Weavings Series:
@ El Museo del Barrio’s Back in Five Minutes Residency
Human hair, silk thread, or yarn
#1: 22” x 11” approx.
#2: 47” x 7” approx.
@ the Joan Mitchell Center Artist in Residency
Human hair, Kanekalon braiding hair, dog hair, and cotton thread
#3: 24.5” x 11” approx.
Pin Loom Hair Weaves #1, #2, #4, #6, #5 and #7
Artist’s gray and dark hair, silk thread, and brass rods
Dimensions variable
Courtesy of the Bronx Museum of the Arts. Photos by Argenis Apolinario
AIM Open House Group Show,
The Block Gallery, New York, NY
November 14–December 13, 2019
Serie “Por siempre joven” (“Forever Young” Series)
#33 to #47
Artist’s gray hair, black silk, and embroidery hoop
Courtesy of Friedman Benda and Adam Reich
Apocryphal Times,
Friedman Benda Gallery, New York, NY
October 30–December 20, 2014
Curated by Tamara Kostianovsky and Thorsten Albertz
Serie “Por siempre joven” (“Forever Young” Series)
#33 to #42
Artist’s gray hair, black silk, and embroidery hoop
Silence Unbound: The Artist Lexicon in the Making,
The Center for Book Arts, New York, NY
January 17–March 29, 2014
Curated by Heather Powell
Serie “Por siempre joven” (“Forever Young” Series)
#33 to #41
Artist’s gray hair, black silk, and embroidery hoop
Historias íntimas (Intimate Stories)
Artist book hand-bound, letters and clamshell-box
Dimensions variable
Courtesy of Kevin Thomas—Moondance Photo NY
Hair,
Paul Robeson Galleries, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ
September 3–December 24, 2013
Curated by Anonda Bell
Serie “Por siempre joven” (“Forever Young” Series)
#33 to #40
Artist’s gray hair, black silk, and embroidery hoop
Pinta NY, Latin American Art Fair,
Booth from ROLLO Contemporary Art
Pier 92, New York, NY
November 12–14, 2010
Serie “Por siempre joven” (“Forever Young” Series)
#33 to #38
Artist’s gray hair, black silk, and embroidery hoop
Para verte mejor (The Better to See You With)
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 37 seconds, no audio
Para besarte mejor (The Better to Kiss You With)
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 48 seconds, no audio
Para acariciarte mejor (The Better to Caress You With)
Single-channel video, 1 hour 49 minutes 36 seconds, no audio
Hair Tactics,
Jersey City Museum, Jersey City, NJ
February 5–August 22, 2010 (Closed earlier in June 2010)
Curated by Rocío Aranda-Alvarado
Serie “Por siempre joven” (“Forever Young” Series)
#33 to #37
Artist’s gray hair, black silk, and embroidery hoop