7 p.m. to 3 a.m. during Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, October 4, 2008

Trim away cultural misconceptions and your hair at this year’s Scotiabank Nuit Blanche presentation at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA)!  On October 4, from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m., O’Neil of Toronto-based, Crasher’s Barber Shop fame will set up shop and cut hair for free inside head room, an exhibition curated by Kenneth Montague (Wedge Curatorial Projects).  The haircutting sessions will be documented by head room photographer Ian Watson.

Featuring works by Alexis Duclos, Seydou Keïta, Chris Ofili, J. D. 'Okhai Ojeikere, Annabel Reyes and Ian Watson, this exhibition combines photography, painting and everyday objects in unexpected ways so as to examine the cultural significance of hair. Here, natural and acrylic, ordinary and fantastic, styled and unkempt heads of hair provide a playful yet critical means for cultural reckoning.  Housed in a pristine, white room - save for its smashed wall, patrons can look in and look on as O’Neil works away.  This room stands in the midst of the exhibition Dyed Roots: the new emergence of culture. Ultimately, ideas, experiences and new do’s are exchanged between spaces and among works.

In Dyed Roots: the new emergence of culture, curated by Camilla Singh, the intermingling of cultures is considered as a natural consequence of immigration and travel. The show's title refers to intrinsic qualities that persist in spite of external influence and efforts made to conceal them. Dyed Roots: the new emergence of culture explores the ways in which a sense of identity can be cultivated and influenced. Artists featured in the exhibition include: Rina Banerjee, Victor Bergen Henegouwen, Emelie Chhangur, Brendan Fernandes and Reeta Saeed. Reconsidering colonial conquests and the construction of cultural products, these artists call into question notions of integrity and authenticity. What is gained and what is lost in the translation of objects, practices and peoples from one context to another?
 

All MOCCA programs and activities are supported by Toronto Culture, the Ontario Arts Council, BMO Financial Group, individual memberships and private donations.