Crowned

Phulusho Ngomane’s practice serves to explore Afrocentric hair aesthetics through the lens of how black hair is often perceived and othered in society, using digital illustration and typography design as a medium. His digital illustrations serve to be visually rendered adulations of Afrocentricity (Blackness) and Afrocentric hair aesthetics.

He celebrates the meticulous and disarray manner Afrocentric hair is often variously styled and carried, whilst not overlooking the defiance it poses to old Western draconian grooming standards of beauty that have been policing Black people on how they should style and carry their own natural hair since time immemorial.

The celebration and acceptance of natural Afrocentric hair is a powerful and positive step towards reclaiming cultural identity and thus promoting self-love and acceptance.