Her Sheitel* 2019
one channel video
duration: 3:52 minutes
paper, hair
*wig in Yiddish
Monochrome photos with hair embroidery, observed under a bright light.
The four photos in the video documents a period in grandmother's life. I copied the information she wrote on the back of her photos and embroidered her words with my own hair. The back side of the embroidery is seen on the front side of the picture. Depending on the angle I held the picture, either the photo is seen clearly, or my hair.
I never saw my grandmother’s hair, therefore did not see her gradual aging and shift to silver hair. She covered her own hair with a wig as part of observing the Jewish law for married women. I also never fully understood her coming of age experiences. Within the time frame of these photos, her extended family within her Jewish Hungarian community were gassed in Auschwitz.