New Beginnings - Portrait Photography

Photos by me
Words Tasha

I remember the first time shaving my head in 2019. I needed a change. I understood that ‘a real change’ takes time so the only thing immediately accessible to myself at that moment was getting rid of my hair. A friend asked “…Are you OK?!!?”!.. I was and I wasn’t but right then I felt renewed. Reset. Liberated.

I remember stroking my head and being transported into a memory a newborn baby, soothed, comforted by the skin on skin contact I was giving myself. Like the gentle love that parents give their newborn child, delicate but firm holding, loving bodies sharing a connection. There’s something utterly powerful about physical touch.

Hair becomes very much a part of our mammalian visual identity. When it’s not there are we still the person we were before? 🤔

Or do we lose our powers like Sampson in the greek/bible stories?💇🏻‍♀️🙆‍♂️

Or does a greater power lie within?✨

I’ve been thinking a lot about rituals, touch, timelines, connections and what they do for us as individuals, collectives, communities, and tribes. A lot of our own rituals and group celebrations have been lost this year to the pandemic but then a number more have been started.