Dreads of the Traded Threads, 2020

The human hair trade industry is known for making women all around the world feel beautiful and better about themselves every single day for many years.

What many may not know, is that for some, this industry is the main cause of dread in their lives. Dreads of the Traded Threads is a statement piece to visualize, portray, reflect, and be made aware of the emotional/physical abuse, exploitation and child slavery that goes on behind closed doors. The victims? girls and women from impoverished countries. However, this piece also serves as an encouragement to mend these issues, and to come to a resolve in an ethical and respectful way.

In this piece, I bring myself into the light of this certain darkness that I hadn't heard of prior to this. At one point in the process of making this piece, I placed myself into the emotional worldview of a person fallen victim under this industry, and as I progressed into it, this piece began to mean so much more to me; So much more than just a "connect the gaps in this flawed industry" concept. I began to question humanity's standpoint when it comes to people with that of lesser means, and the lengths they would go to for their own benefit. Though I may only be scraping the surface on this issue (for now), I have a very strong intention to dive deeper into this and possibly take the first few steps into making a difference, no matter how small.