Pelo Bueno, Pelo Bello

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

36x36

calligraphy + gold leaf

2022

“Pelo Bueno, Pelo Bello” - Good hair, Beautiful hair
Many Black + mixed Dominicans try to hide their blackness by getting rid of their kinks and curls. If you have kinkier/curlier hair, you might have grown up hearing that you have “pelo malo”-bad hair. I grew up being criticized for my natural hair, being told it made me look less civilized and less pretty. I used to relax it with chemicals and damage it with heat, even though deep down I liked my curls. Seven years ago, I decided to go natural. This piece it a love letter to my hair. In the letter I apologize to my hair for not appreciating it and cherishing the connection it gives me to my ancestral roots. I go on to
compliment my gorgeous crown of curls with positive adjectives + armations.