Matahati
The artists of the collective address history, identity, cultural and social changes in Malaysia.
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The Hair Piece / Peace. 2004
Video documentation
20 mins
In Fuad’s performance The Hair Piece / Peace (2004), he has his audience assist in cutting hair he has been growing for the past 5 years. This offer of leaving a most personal aspect of himself in the hands of others is an act of trust and respect for the other. As locks of hair are cut off, words he has written on his back of categories he is assigned ‘Male’, ‘Malaysian’, ‘Asian’ and ‘Muslim’ are slowly revealed to the audience. The performance which took place in Vermont in USA was attended largely by non-Asians, non-Muslim and non-Malaysians, and here these labels then were shown for what they really are, signs made by hand, no more, no less.
© Photo: Ahmad Fuad Osman
The artists of the collective address history, identity, cultural and social changes in Malaysia.