This specific artwork was created during the emotional journey of losing my hair to the autoimmune condition known as Alopecia. Losing my head hair has had a huge impact on my life and has subsequently led me to further research the critical role that hair plays in society and culture.  This film, titled Shaving Alopecia, is twenty minutes long and features me shaving my head for the first time. Part of why I filmed this was because I wanted to capture this unique process that could never be repeated. It highlights the struggle between wearing a wig as a disguise and losing your hair but yet not being bald. By shaving what was left of my hair I was taking control of my appearance and identity for the first time in six years. I end this piece in the same place that I began it; wearing a wig. The purpose of this loop is to encourage the audience to critically engage with the film, why did she put the wig back on? Is it because society judges women when they are bald? Even though I’m still hiding my baldness at the end of this piece it felt like a step forwards in accepting (alopecia) my identity as a woman. 

Brigette Lucas, Shaving Alopecia, 2013, digital video, audio, 8:45 min