Hair – Stories of Power and Passion

Augustinermuseum

14 November 2026 – 18 April 2027

Whether long, short or shaven, dyed in bright colours or artistically styled – hair tells individual stories. They speak of beauty and desire, of conformity and rebellion, of both power and disempowerment. Hair is a point of connection and shapes identity.

Comprising eight chapters and spanning the period from antiquity to the present day, the exhibition explores the social, political, religious and deeply personal facets of hair. Why does Medusa have a head full of snakes? What does Louis XIV’s opulent wig reveal about social status? And how does contemporary art reflect current debates on body hair and gender roles? Ranging from marble busts of Roman emperors via a delicate hair earring in a portrait of Elizabeth Stuart, all the way through to a designer shoe made of synthetic hair: around 140 sculptures, paintings, prints, photographs, video works, design items, ethnological objects and historical everyday artefacts from four continents open up different perspectives and illustrate the immense fascination that something seemingly so common place can inspire.
 
Originally conceived by the Kunsthalle der Hypovereinsbank in Munich, the exhibition has been adapted, expanded and further elaborated for Freiburg.