Hype Hair, an exhibition of vibrant and wearable hair sculptures by South Florida artist Peppermint Sandy, has just opened at the Atrium Gallery in the Orange County Administration Center downtown.
Sandy was born in Miami to Haitian immigrant parents. Her work takes inspiration from her upbringing, examining how beauty rituals have transcended time.
Sandy said that Hype Hair is not only inspired by her own relationship with Black hair, but a dedication to all Black women and girls with hair like hers. She said from the beginning of time, Black hair has been used not just as art, but as a form of communication.
“From identifying tribes through braids, to weaving rice for nourishment into the very braids that were cornrowed into escape routes during slavery, to hair being in rollers the night before Easter Sunday,” Sandy said in a press statement. “Our hair has spoken to us, for us, and by us.”
She chose the title Hype Hair after one of her favorite magazines during her childhood — one of the few publications to show Black hair’s beauty and creativity — recalling this as one of the rare representations of herself artistically that she could take home.
“This is a piece of my mind, a love letter, and a confirmation to us Black girls & women: We’re the flyest.”
The collection of sculptures will remain on display through June 25. The exhibition is free to attend and open to the public. The Atrium Gallery’s hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Hype Hair, Atrium Gallery in the Orange County Administration Center, 201 S. Rosalind Ave., Art in the Atrium, free.
