For the Love of Hair: Detangling Cultural Biases, consists of a series of portraits and interviews that celebrate the exquisiteness of natural hair while spotlighting implicit bias. Jordyn uses her own lived experiences along with a research driven art practice as tools for empowerment and liberation. According to the statistics of both historical and the present dehumanizing experiences for blacks in America, she believes that these forms of judgments should be brought to notice and is unjust in the black communities, believing that hair and skin should be perceived as a custom of beauty rather than being rooted from hate. Jordyn interviews individuals within the black community on how hair discrimination has affected their self-confidence as well as how they overcame these experiences through their own psychological liberations. Through this, she constructs a body of work that voices the importance of endorsing good mental health and dispiriting discrimination.She uses mixed media including acrylic paint, elements of texture, fabric, and pattern in the form of figurative presentation of portraiture to create 3 large portraits in the sizes of 24 x 30 inches. The works include a website link to the auditory hearings of their interviews/testimonials. These conversations reveal the interviewees experiences and ideas about hair discrimination, mental-wellness, self-love, and hope. The purpose of Jordyn’s project is to not only help others become aware of this cultural bias issue, but to also inspire those of color to use their texturized hair and brawn brown skin as a tool of empowerment.
