2,422 Haircuts

Shortlisted for the Northern Beaches Council Libraries Artists' Book Award 2019
& Acquired for their collection

Statement
For over a year my barber Chris saved his razor blade wrappers for me. He changes blade for each haircut. As I see it, each wrapper captures a moment in time between Chris and his client. They tell a story of repetitive skilled hand movements over decades, as well as the verbal and non-verbal interaction between him and the client. Some wrappers have fragments of hair stuck to them, or are tainted with the traditional barbers’ blue barbicide disinfectant. Thousands of these wrappers were coptic-stitched into a book that aims to mirror the care, precision and repetition of Chris' work.

Dimensions
The book measures H 1.5 X W 110 X D 6.5 cm. Installation dimensions are variable. In the photos below, they are H 6.5 X W 40 X D 20 cm.

Materials
Razor blade wrappers, glue and linen thread.

Photography
Felicity Jenkins.

Acknowledgements
With thanks to:
- Chris Leontios from John’s 2.0 in Newtown, NSW
- The Sydney BAG (Book Art Group).