Your Satisfaction is Ours.

In Africa, hairstyle has been used to project profession, gender, age and status. In the show such distinctions are often illustrated by masks or statues, which can be stylized to the point of caricature to emphasize a certain feature.

In such artwork, the head can be made disproportionately larger. Often, this represents the identity of a supernatural being or ancestor. The shape, style and decoration of the head might determine the identity of who is being portrayed. Facial paint, facial scars (scarification) or the hairdo itself would also illustrate the identity of the figure.

The rise of the Afro in the 1960's turned into a visual manifestation of Black Power. For years simply wearing an Afro was a political statement. The Afro also illustrated another trend: the cross-pollination of the black world. The Afro popped up in Africa, was worn at demonstrations celebrating Brazil's black pride movement, Black Rio, and flourished in Europe's black communities. By wearing the Afro, one was not simply copying another American style. The Afro was and should  continue to be  a symbol of the solidarity of the black world.