Stephane Alexis - Chains & Crowns
09 Apr - 14 May 2022
This work celebrates the heritage of black communities through their hair.
While beauty standards still consider frizzy hair dirty and ugly, thus pushing black people to straighten their hair with ammonia or formaldehyde products, the appropriation of African hairstyles, and particularly braids, has been perpetuated since the dawn of time.
Inspired by the hair journey of the artist’s mother, this photographic project traces the different hairstyles invented by black people, symbols of their creativity, resistance and resilience.
The artist wishes to question the history of our nappy era (contemporary movement of valorization of natural frizzy hair), and therefore create a dialogue. How to identify the importance of hairstyles in black cultures, remedy the violence of cultural appropriation and reaffirm the dignity of black communities?
Stephane Alexis's work emanates from his personal experiences with the demographic and sub-demographic segments to which he belongs. Through a differentiated lens, Alexis magnifies the resilience and dignity of his communities and engages the Other to question his own knowledge and awareness.
From the exploration of masculinity to the issues of the African-Canadian community, from the world of people with special needs to family caregivers, Alexis conducts a great deal of research drawing from both his own experience and external sources to guide him in the direction of each project.
Through the plastic and conceptual qualities of his photographic work, Alexis wishes to build a bridge towards a better understanding of the situations and issues facing his communities.
Stephane Alexis is an emerging Caribbean-Canadian artist living in Ottawa. A graduate of Algonquin College, he also holds a Diploma in Photographic Arts and Production from Ottawa's School of the Photographic Arts (SPAO). Stephane Alexis has received several grants from the municipal to federal level and just exhibited in the Karsh Continuum 2022 exhibition (Ottawa).
Stephane Alexis is also currently exhibiting in Montreal as part of the festival Art Souterrain "Voies-Voix résilientes" some photos from the series Chains & Crowns in monumental format until June 30, 2022.
Stephane Alexis's work emanates from his personal experiences with the demographic and sub-demographic segments to which he belongs. Through a differentiated lens, Alexis magnifies the resilience and dignity of his communities and engages the Other to question his own knowledge and awareness.
From the exploration of masculinity to the issues of the African-Canadian community, from the world of people with special needs to family caregivers, Alexis conducts a great deal of research drawing from both his own experience and external sources to guide him in the direction of each project.
Through the plastic and conceptual qualities of his photographic work, Alexis wishes to build a bridge towards a better understanding of the situations and issues facing his communities.
Stephane Alexis is an emerging Caribbean-Canadian artist living in Ottawa. A graduate of Algonquin College, he also holds a Diploma in Photographic Arts and Production from Ottawa's School of the Photographic Arts (SPAO). Stephane Alexis has received several grants from the municipal to federal level and just exhibited in the Karsh Continuum 2022 exhibition (Ottawa).
Stephane Alexis is also currently exhibiting in Montreal as part of the festival Art Souterrain "Voies-Voix résilientes" some photos from the series Chains & Crowns in monumental format until June 30, 2022.