Ana Mendes

Ana Mendes, Black Cloth, 2023-ongoing, installation (black cloth, embroidering, hair), 2 x 2.5 m, exhibition view Lewisham Art House, London, 2023; Photo (c) Ana Mendes

Ana Mendes, Black Cloth, 2023-ongoing, installation (black cloth, embroidering, hair, concrete steel rods), variable dimensions, exhibition view Lewisham Art House, London, 2023; Photo (c) Ana Mendes

Ana Mendes, Black Cloth, 2023-ongoing, installation (iPad, video), 9.5 x 5 inch, exhibition view Lewisham Art House, London, 2023; Photo (c) Ana Mendes

Ana Mendes, Black Cloth, 2023-ongoing, installation (black cloth, embroidering, hair, concrete steel rods), variable dimensions, exhibition view Lewisham Art House, London, 2023; Photo (c) Ana Mendes

Ana Mendes, Black Cloth, 2023-ongoing, installation (black cloth, embroidering, hair, concrete steel rods), variable dimensions, exhibition view Lewisham Art House, London, 2023; Photo (c) Ana Mendes

Ana Mendes, Black Cloth, 2023-ongoing, installation (black cloth, embroidering, hair, concrete steel rods), variable dimensions, exhibition view Lewisham Art House, London, 2023; Photo (c) Ana Mendes

Ana Mendes, Black Cloth, 2023-ongoing, installation (iPad, video), 9.5 x 5 inch, exhibition view Lewisham Art House, London, 2023; Photo (c) Ana Mendes

Ana Mendes, Black Cloth, 2023-ongoing, photo installation, table, glass, variable dimensions, exhibition view Lewisham Art House, London, 2023; Photo (c) Ana Mendes
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  Ana Mendes, Black Cloth, 2023-ongoing, installation (black cloth, embroidering, hair), 2 x 2.5 m, exhibition view Lewisham Art House, London, 2023; Photo (c) Ana Mendes
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  Ana Mendes, Black Cloth, 2023-ongoing, installation (black cloth, embroidering, hair, concrete steel rods), variable dimensions, exhibition view Lewisham Art House, London, 2023; Photo (c) Ana Mendes
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  Ana Mendes, Black Cloth, 2023-ongoing, installation (iPad, video), 9.5 x 5 inch, exhibition view Lewisham Art House, London, 2023; Photo (c) Ana Mendes
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  Ana Mendes, Black Cloth, 2023-ongoing, installation (black cloth, embroidering, hair, concrete steel rods), variable dimensions, exhibition view Lewisham Art House, London, 2023; Photo (c) Ana Mendes
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  Ana Mendes, Black Cloth, 2023-ongoing, installation (black cloth, embroidering, hair, concrete steel rods), variable dimensions, exhibition view Lewisham Art House, London, 2023; Photo (c) Ana Mendes
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  Ana Mendes, Black Cloth, 2023-ongoing, installation (black cloth, embroidering, hair, concrete steel rods), variable dimensions, exhibition view Lewisham Art House, London, 2023; Photo (c) Ana Mendes
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  Ana Mendes, Black Cloth, 2023-ongoing, installation (iPad, video), 9.5 x 5 inch, exhibition view Lewisham Art House, London, 2023; Photo (c) Ana Mendes
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  Ana Mendes, Black Cloth, 2023-ongoing, photo installation, table, glass, variable dimensions, exhibition view Lewisham Art House, London, 2023; Photo (c) Ana Mendes
BLACK CLOTH, by artist Ana Mendes, is a poetic exploration of the hair market; a threading together of all that it entails, from labour and marketing to feminism and language.

In her new show, BLACK CLOTH, Mendes creates a conceptual installation, in which wall/textile sculptures are displayed against an archive of photos, which Mendes captured in hair shops around the world. From London to Stockholm, Paris, Seoul, Taipei, Cologne or Antwerp, one begins to gain an understanding of how hair is perceived; for example, in Taipei, hair is a symbol of honour, whereas in Antwerp, hair is a symbol of sexuality.