Barbados Artist Showcases Barbers and Hairstylists in Artwork at Baton Rouge Gallery
Artist John Alleyne showcased barbers and hairstylists ‘artform’ in his exhibit at the Baton Rouge Gallery. (Photo by Baton Rouge Gallery)
Barbados native John Alleyne attended Louisiana State University (LSU) in 2015, obtaining his Master’s degree in Fine Arts in Studio Art. He recently showcased his work in the Baton Rouge Gallery earlier this month. The gallery highlights contemporary art from around the nation. This past month, the gallery held an exhibit promoting various artists.
“It was an amazing experience to have my artwork featured in the gallery,” he said.
Alleyne’s artwork named ‘Theater of Vulnerability’ represents male masculinity. (Picture by Baton Rouge Gallery)
Alleyne’s artwork featured a hairstyle guide that spotlighted Black barbershops and salons in the U.S. Alleyne said that he wanted to challenge the representations of Blackness, notions of masculinity, and healing through his artwork.
“The series explores the idea of freedom,” Alleyne said. “I created the work using a silkscreen but not in the traditional way, more in a freeform.”
Art piece ‘The World is Still Yours (Going-Bald Fade, with Nas Part. (Picture by Baton Rouge Gallery)
When screenprinting the traditional way, hinges are typically used to hold the silkscreen in place. With this new body of work, Alleyne placed the silkscreen directly on to the paper without the aid of hinges.
Alleyne said he wanted to try a new form in his art.
“I was holding it still with hinges, so in a way, I was freeing the silkscreen from the constraints of the hinges being tied to the table and more into a freeing process.”
The images themselves come from barbershops; Alleyne took images of people getting their haircuts. He hit up barbershops in his community in Brooklyn, New York, where he and his family migrated from after leaving Barbados.
“The barber that I go to in Baton Rouge, I wanted to highlight him in the series,” Alleyne said.
Alleyne had a surprise performance where he sat in a chair while his barber cut his hair in the middle of the exhibit’s opening ceremony.
“I wanted him to see himself as an artist,” he said. “I wanted my barber to be recognized for the job that he does. There’s a transformative aspect of barbers and hairstylists similar to that of a religious leader. Barbers and hairstylists are blessing and transforming people. You go into a hair salon or a barbershop, and you come out of it as a different person. That was the idea that I had with this new body of work.”
Art piece ‘Gathering Without Criticism, Or the Critical Eye’. (Picture by Baton Rouge Gallery)
Alleyne said that he’s interested in people who don’t usually go to art galleries and museums, primarily Black people and people of color, and have something representing them and their culture.
“I want them to see themselves in these spaces,” Alleyne said. “Representation is important, especially for people who look like me. To see themselves valued and to feel valued is essential to me. I got a lot of feedback from other barbers who expressed witnessing the work and seeing themselves differently. And that’s what I was hoping for.”
Alleyne’s work will be on display at the Baton Rouge Gallery until December 29, 2021. Currently, Alleyne is an artist-in-residence at Anderson Ranch Art Center.
To see more of Alleyne’s work, click here.