Photos of ‘It’s My Hair’ series. Pic: Brunel Johnson
Johnson spoke to ELL about the tradition of people doing hair outside on the street: “Have you ever seen traditional salons do hair outside on a sunny day? Why do the Ridley Road salons do it?” He said that this practice originated because most black salons are not given the opportunity to rent salon spaces.
Afro hair has always been a symbol of the fight against racism. Johnson documents what it really takes to maintain hair that has – for a long time been – the target of criticism and judgment. “For too long, black people have had to forsake their hair because it was deemed unprofessional, due to racism, ignorance and lack of understanding the process behind maintaining Afro hair,” he said.