Hair Stories is a series of excerpted interviews and color portraits of a diverse array of women, that explores the complex relationship women have with their hair. Indian-born, Los Angeles–based photographer Rohina Hoffman deployed the interviewing skills she has developed in her training as a neurologist to establish an intimate rapport that allowed for a truthful dialogue about the role of hair in these womens’ lives. Though it was conceived and shot before the #MeToo movement, this salient project presents hair as a metaphor for identity, femininity and the manner in which women struggle for control over their own bodies in a misogynistic world. Hair Stories shows that hair is more than just style or aesthetics; it is a physical manifestation of the ongoing hope and history of women.

Published by Damiani

Introduction by Emily Lambert-Clements, Art Advisor and Former Assoc. Fraenkel Gallery.

Essay by Esther R. Berry, Fashion and Gender Studies Scholar and Curator, Ryerson University.

Text and photographs by Rohina Hoffman

Language: English

Hardcover 7.25 x 10.5”

92 pages with insert 38 color photographs and excerpts of interviews.

ISBN 978-8862086400

COLLECTIONS

Bard Graduate Center, New York, NY

Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma, Roma, Italy

Biblioteca Universitaria di Bologna, Bologna, Italy

Cleveland Institute of Art – Jessica R. Gund Memorial Library, Cleveland, OH

Dickinson College Library – Waidner-Spahr Library, Carlisle, PA

Hollins University – Wyndham Robertson Library, Roanoke, VA

Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Los Angeles Public Library, Los Angeles, CA

Massachusetts College of Art and Design – Morton R. Godine Library, Boston, MA

Massey University Library – Te Putanga ki te ao Mātauranga, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Miami University Libraries – King Library, Oxford, OH

Michigan State University Libraries – Main Library, East Lansing, MI

Monash University Library, Melbourne, Australia

New York Public Library – Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, New York, NY

Oberlin College Libraries, Oberlin, OH

Radford University Library – McConnell Library, Radford, VA

Rhode Island School of Design – Fleet Library at RISD, Providence, RI

RIT Library – Wallace Library, Rochester, NY

Salisbury University Libraries – Guerrieri Academic Commons, Salisbury, MD

Shanghai Library, Shanghai, China mainland

The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Thomas J. Watson Library, New York, NY

Tufts University – Tisch Library, Medford, MA

University of Arizona Libraries, Tucson, AZ

University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego Library), La Jolla, CA

University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB Library), Santa Barbara, CA

University of Denver – Anderson Academic Commons
Denver, CO

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN

University of New Mexico – Main Campus, Albuquerque, NM

University of Saint Francis – Lee and Jim Vann Library, Ft Wayne, IN

University of Southern California (USC Libraries)
Los Angeles, CA

Utah State University – Merrill-Cazier Library, Logan, UT

VCU Libraries (Virginia Commonwealth University), Richmond, VA

Williams College – Sawyer Library, Williamstown, MA

Zürcher Hochschule der Künste – Medien- und Informationszentrum (ZHdK MIZ), Zurich, Switzerland

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS:

Please email rohina@rohinahoffman.com for shipping rates before purchasing.

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“The success of Hair Stories is not just the clear concept behind the work, but the beauty of the photographs themselves… As a photographer, Hoffman finds unique ways to keep her images fresh and compelling… Whether you seek a new body of portraits to add to your collection, or appreciate the conceptual variations of self-expression illustrated in Hair Stories, it is a beautiful book to hold and behold. Dare I say, it will GROW on you.”

– Melanie Chapman for The PhotoBook Journal, reviewed on 9/11/19

“I reflected upon the women in my own life in a way that was unexpected for me. The universal became personal. Being cognizant of their own hair stories, and the differences which make them strong individuals, allowed me to learn more about them in a way that is accessible to all of us.”

– Cary Benbow from review of Hair Stories for F-Stop Magazine 7/31/19

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