At first glance, the United Nations Project looks like a touching art installation that centers around some beautiful calligraphy. In a way, it is. But until a person witnesses it up close, they will be missing its full glory. Those characters weren't created using ink and brush. Instead, they were formed with real human hair. Taking into consideration just how large the installation is, that's a lot of hair.
Created by Wenda Gu, the United Nations Project is named so because he picked up the hair from nearly 325 hair salons and barbershops in 18 countries. As written on the Chinese artist's website, the United Nations Project is "an ongoing global art project for the twenty-first century since 1993 over 2 million people world-wide have donated their hair to this project."
What's Driving This Trend
- Hair-based Art Installations
- Using human hair as a material for creating installations challenges traditional forms of art and could offer sustainable and socially conscious alternatives.
- Global Collaborative Art Projects
- Projects that involve contributions from people and institutions from around the world offer new opportunities for cultural exchange and community building.
- Unconventional Calligraphy Techniques
- Exploring new ways to create letters, symbols, and typography, such as using human hair, can lead to innovative forms of communication and expression.
Who This Affects Most
- Art and Design
- The art world can embrace new materials and forms of collaboration to create thought-provoking works that provide social commentary and inspire new ideas.
- Beauty and Hair Care
- Hair salons and barbershops can potential turn their waste hair into a valued resource for artistic projects or environmentally-friendly products.
- Education and Cultural Institutions
- Schools, libraries, museums and other institutions can incorporate community-based art projects as part of their social and cultural activities to engage people with different backgrounds.
