about black South African journalist Nat exhibition review Nakasa’s transnational experience had a profound impact on him. As a journalist working during apartheid, Nakasa hoped to ee a government system in which his writing would likely be banned or censored. Upon receiving news he had been selected for a journalism fellowship at Harvard, Nakasa needed to secure a passport but was refused one by the South African govern- ment. In order to go to the US, Nakasa Origins of the Afro Comb: 6,000 accepted an exit permit that meant he could Years of Culture, Politics, and no longer return to South Africa. Moved by Nakasa’s harrowing experience, Wa Lehulere Identity visited his grave in New York and recited The Fitzwilliam Museum poetry there, cutting a patch of grass, which University of Cambridge he repatriated to South Africa, in hopes July 2–November 3, 2013 that he could keep it alive. is complex relationship between international borders, reviewed by Jeremy Coote temporal movement, and physical exile pervades Wa Lehulere’s artistic practice, and e Fitzwilliam is the University of Cam- is evident at the start of this exhibition. bridge’s museum of art and antiquities, with Particularly for informed viewers, the thirty-four galleries devoted to Classical, suitcases lled with grass recall the Nakasa Western, and Oriental art. It is not a place anecdote, which Wa Lehulere so eloquently 1 Banners advertising the “Afro visitors expect to nd rooms lled with Comb” exhibition on a lamp post in described in the exhibition talk. But others African combs. During the summer of , Market Hill, Cambridge, England, in need not know Nakasa’s impact on the artist however, its Mellon and Octagon galleries the summer of 2013. in order to understand or appreciate Wa were devoted to “Origins of the Afro Comb: all photos: courtesy The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge Lehulere’s work. e curatorial choice to , Years of Culture, Politics and Iden- exclude narrative artwork labels or inter- tity.” Curated by Senior Assistant Keeper pretative wall texts strengthens the viewers’ of Antiquities Sally-Ann Ashton, it was the experience of the work and aligns well with Fitzwilliam’s major exhibition for  and Protection and Dreams: East African Head- Wa Lehulere’s interpretation of history and was publicized by banners throughout the rests in Context” held at the Fitzwilliam time. Rather than look rst, think second, city (Fig. ). Even the most uninterested vis- in − (Massing and Ashton ). read third, or any combination of these, a itor to Cambridge could not to fail to notice Pleasingly, however, I found there was far viewer has the opportunity to exercise each the exhibition was on; subliminally, at least, more to enjoy and to praise in “Origins of of these actions in a variety of ways, appre- the message that “Afro combs” are worthy of the African Comb” than to criticize. ere ciating the works without a dictated path or attention—aesthetic and/or scholarly—must were very few items from private collec- explanation. Like Wa Lehulere’s perception have got through to at least some tourists, tions and no more than one or two of these of history, it is tting that his works have not natives, students, and dons. were anonymous. Instead, the exhibition been distilled into certain frameworks or e Mellon gallery was the main room, drew on the more-or-less well-provenanced didactics. It should be noted however, that if lled with combs from all parts of Africa collections of the University’s Museum of viewers wish to learn more about Wa Lehu- (Fig. )—along with gures, masks, and pho- Archaeology and Anthropology, the British lere, an exhibition brochure is available at tographs illustrating both the use of combs Museum, and the Petrie Museum at Univer- the Art Institute of Chicago and includes an and African hairstyles in general. Many sity College London, as well as those of the informative essay by curator Kate Nesin, one of the objects would have been familiar to Fitzwilliam itself. Moreover, the sub-Saha- that seamlessly contextualizes the collection readers of this journal; indeed, many similar ran combs on display were not presented as of works. e auditory experience includes objects were shown in “Hair in African Art pale echoes of those from ancient Egypt and music emitted from a video of a cigarette and Culture” at the Museum for African Art Sudan; rather they were individually and burning slowly and a cassette recording of in New York in  (Sieber and Herre- appropriately labeled and contextualized. language lessons; in this way Kemang Wa man ) and in “Doing Hair: Art and ere were places where greater involve- Lehulere’s works literally and guratively Hair in Africa” at the Wits Art Museum in ment of sub-Saharan specialists might have speak to one another, and to the viewers  (De Becker and Nettleton ). What resulted in better information, but these enveloped by this thought provoking and distinguished “Origins of the Afro Comb” were few and far between and—in the wider multifaceted exhibition. was its location, its focus on combs, and its context—insignicant. narrative/historical drive—beginning with Amidst hundreds of combs and related C  S is a Curatorial Assistant at ancient Egypt and Sudan. objects from across Africa, however, the the Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville. When I was asked to review “Origins of exhibition’s key objects were a ,-year-old She received a Master’s degree in Art History from the Afro Comb” I hastily assumed it would bone comb, excavated from grave G in the the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in be another frustrating exhibition reducing southern cemetery at Abydos by archaeolo-  . Her research and writing focuses on modern the myriad cultural traditions of the African and contemporary art with particular interests in gist W.M. Flinders Petrie in /, and African and African American art. Caitlin.Parks. continent to pale imitations of ancient Egyp- a plastic Black Fist comb, one of thousands [email protected] tian examples—no doubt giving prominence mass produced since the patent was rst to an anonymous private collection, as was issued in the US in  (Fig. )—hence “ori- the case with a smaller exhibition “Triumph, gins” and “Afro comb.” To fully appreciate

 african arts WINTER 2017 VOL. 50, NO. 4 Downloaded from| http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/AFAR_r_00379 by guest on 27 September 2021 the signicance of these two objects, how- the telling of a number of other stories, par- 2 Display illustrating the variety of ever, one needs to look beyond the exhibition ticularly those relating to the development forms found throughout the African continent. itself. As explained by the Fitzwilliam’s of the Afro comb itself, with its origins in director Tim Knox in his “Foreword” to the the popularity of Afro hairstyles in the US in 3 View of (left) plastic Black Fist catalogue, the bone comb had been used by the s and the development of the Black comb, one of thousands mass-produced Ashton in educational work with prisoners, Power comb. since 1972, and (right) 5,500-year-old in which she used her knowledge of ancient e exhibition cannot be faulted for its bone comb found in grave G78 in the southern cemetery at Abydos by Egypt to deepen their interest in African treatment of the individual objects within it; archaeologist W. M. Flinders Petrie in culture. One of the project’s key aims was “to but its ostensible theme and supposed orga- 1898/1899. encourage ownership of cultural heritage, in nizing principle should be challenged. I say particular for black and North African pris- “ostensible” and “supposed” because it seems oners, who have a direct link with ancient to me that the underlying concept actually Egypt through their own cultural roots.” had less to do with “origins” and “history” Some of the black prisoners with whom and far more to do with “blackness.” What Ashton worked remarked on the similarities held the exhibition together was not a between the ancient Egyptian comb and spurious historical link between the objects those they used at home. Knox writes: “It displayed, but the fact that they were all was another tangible link between the rich made and used by black people—in ancient cultural heritage of the Nile valley all those Egypt and Sudan, in “modern” Africa, and millennia ago, and present-day Africa and in the US. As a result, unsurprisingly, the the African Diaspora to America, Europe, exhibition had great signicance, resonance, and Britain” (Knox :). and meaning for its black visitors, of which at some people today “see” a link, there were many on the day I was there. however, does not mean that any such From such a perspective, the scholarly—for connection can be traced historically or which, read “pedantic”—concerns of a art-historically. Indeed, I continue to be middle-aged, middle-class, white guy with bothered by the suggestion that there is a precious little hair matter little, if at all. I can single story to be told—of “origins” and have my say here, explicating my concerns “, years of history”—as if each African about the art-historical inappropriateness of comb, of whatever form and origin, is part presenting a wide range of African combs as of one story that has its origins in ancient somehow being the product of some sort of Egypt and its modern apotheosis in the evolutionary process that began in ancient “Afro comb.” In the exhibition itself this Egypt and reached its apotheosis in New single story of “origins” was undermined by York in the s. at is clearly wrong in all

VOL. 50, NO. 4 WINTER 2017 african arts  Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/AFAR_r_00379 by guest on 27 September 2021 | sorts of ways. Rather there are hundreds and exhibition review :). Simply put, the taxis that clog thousands of histories, making up a complex the city streets are visible evidence of an diversity that must be addressed if one does ongoing economic gap between rich and not want to mislead and/or reinforce ideas poor that the advent of democracy in South about “the country of Africa.” Africa has yet to close. But taxi hand signs, Arguably, however, such concerns are which commuters use to signal their desired irrelevant in this case. Using a single story as destinations, are also evidence of the resil- a hook, “Origins of the Afro-Comb” caught ience and resourcefulness of South African and held the imagination of its many and commuters. diverse visitors. Ostensibly about combs, it Woolf, whose work has addressed South was, as its subtitle rightly suggested, actually Susan Woolf: Taxi Hand Signs Africa’s fraught history in both her mas- about “culture, politics, and identity.” Its South African Jewish Museum ters and doctoral work, began in  to legacy should be the encouragement it gives systematically catalogue the taxi hand curators of African collections in the UK to Cape Town, South Africa signs she observed during her commute rethink their responsibilities and do things July 10–September 5, 2016 by car between her suburban home and dierently. her downtown Johannesburg studio. As a “Origins of the Afro Comb” was actu- reviewed by Pamela Allara white person—an umlungu—it took some ally a joint exhibition with the Museum determination as well as faith in the good- of Archaeology and Anthropology, which Under the new administration of Director will of the citizenry to go into the townships, hosted, from July  to September , three Gavin Morris, the South African Jewish the taxi ranks, and Johannesburg’s streets installations by artist Michael McMillan. Museum has expanded its cultural and to interview drivers, queue marshals, and At the Fitzwilliam there was also a display historical installations to include tempo- passengers and to record the individual of comb-inspired relief prints by Ghanaian rary exhibitions by contemporary artists. gestures they were using. By , she used artist Atta Kwami. ere were also talks, For , the museum hosted an ambitious, the information she had gathered as the drop-in and handling sessions, lm-show- multi media exhibition by Johannes- basis of a series of twenty-six brightly-col- ings, lectures and a conference, an online burg-based artist Susan Woolf titled “Taxi ored gouaches of gloved hands making the audio slideshow “ e Afro Comb and the Hand Signs and a New Shape Language individual signs (Fig. ); that same year, the Politics of Hair” hosted by the BBC (www. for People Who Are Blind” that presented paintings were reproduced in a “Taxi Hand bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-), and artworks based on the gestural language Signs booklet” that could serve as a reference an interactive website (www.tzmuseum. used to signal minibus taxi drivers. Because for those who were unfamiliar with the sign cam.ac.uk/gallery/afrocombs). until recently South Africa’s public bus and needed for a specic route. By the time she e catalogue, Origins of the Afro Comb: train services have been inadequate, over the completed her doctoral dissertation in , , Years of Culture, Politics and Identity, past half century a largely unregulated taxi/ Woolf had identied and documented a total edited by Sally-Ann Ashton (Cambridge: minibus transport sector has developed that e Fitzwilliam Museum, ;  pages, operates extensive commuter routes between + black-and-white and color images; . the townships and inner cities. According to 1 Susan Woolf socover), is eclectic, with only some of the Woolf and J.W Joubert, “apartheid, poverty, First Taxi Hand Signs (2008) range of short essays relating directly to the and … decient transport in and around Lithograph, ed. 40; 49.5 cm x 61 cm exhibition. Many readers of African Arts cities, fashioned the explosion that is the might prefer the more scholarly monograph, taxi industry today” (Woolf and Joubert all photos courtesy Susan Woolf , Years of African Combs, by Sally-Ann Ashton (Cambridge: e Fitzwilliam Museum, ;  pages, + black-and- white and color images; . socover). J C is Curator and Joint Head of Collections at the University of Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum. [email protected]. References cited De Becker, Laura, and Anitra Nettleton (eds). . Doing Hair: Art and Hair in Africa. Johannesburg: Wits Art Museum. Knox, Tim. . “Director’s Foreword.” In Origins of the Afro Comb: , Years of Culture, Politics and Identity, ed. Sally-Ann Ashton, pp. –. Cambridge: e Fitzwilliam Museum. Massing, Jean Michel, and Sally-Ann Ashton. . Triumph, Protection & Dreams: East African Headrests in Context. Cambridge: e Fitzwilliam Museum. Sieber, Roy, and Frank Herreman (eds.). . Hair in African Art and Culture. New York: e Museum for African Art and New York: Prestel.

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