Desatadas, women’s identity and their hair

This project tells stories about women, through portraits and statements. It shows how social and ethnic identities and emotions can be reflected through the aesthetics of women’s hair. Furthermore, it explores how this identity has been repressed throughout history as a consequence of personal experiences and social fears.

The project began as a personal search of who I am in the society where I grew up in. I became a part of many women’s lives by using their hair as a tool to tell their stories. It is powerful to talk about femininity and the search for an identity. Woman’s hair is able to store moving stories of joy and frustration.

The society that we live in insensitively judges our bodies, our face, our hair. We can easily change our hair following our emotions, while our faces and bodies need surgeries to change. Thus, hair is an element that can make us feel secure and give us some control over our appearance. Hair has become a social discourse and very often a symbol of resistance.  

Women want to share their story as a method of feminine empowerment, catharsis and healing.

Ecuador, 2018- 2019