Mathilde Mujanayi (she/her) is a junior photography major from Cincinnati, Ohio. She uses her artistry to investigate her identity as a black woman immigrant. Using any medium at hand for self exploration. Most of Mujanayi’s works hinder between intimate and universal.
At My Mother’s Salon
Collection Notes
In this series At My Mother’s Salon, I explore the existing interaction between my hair and I. This series will analyze or reflect on the intricacy of said relationship and try to give a voice to a topic that's been discussed for decades. I have 4 designs, each one representing a specific feeling or idea around my hair. The love I have for it, its cultural, historical, and ancestral ties, the tiredness of it all, and the protection it provides while simultaneously leaving me bare for the world to judge.
This year’s theme follows the word flourish, what does flourishing mean to us? What do we sow to reap later? Through this collection, I’m sowing time, love, patience. I’m implementing love into my hair. Think 30 yr old Mathilde being able to do her hair in the morning so casually, it takes effort ofc but it isn’t translated as burdensome rather, love. If I can wake up in the morning and practice love for my hair, in that same act I’m practicing love for myself or should I say to myself.