Locks

Locks A lock of hair signifies different things for many cultures. It can be a way to possess someone or be about holding on to the memory of a loved one that has died. Throughout history there have been many examples of the significance of the lock of hair, from jewelry made of hair, to clips of hair attached to a photograph. Today, with science and technology, we can identify traits, genes, and HABITS from the DNA of one strand of hair! In 2010, a group of students gave me locks of their hair sealed in envelopes; symbols of their existence and time spent with me. Honestly, I accepted the envelopes and put them in a drawer for safekeeping, not being really sure what to do with them. While pursing “ a modern hair study” for the past 2 years, I came across the locks again. Upon further thought, I became compelled to collect more. I sent a private message to the important people in my life asking them to send me a lock of their hair. And they did. The clean and near scientific approach to presenting the locks, I hope, is detached from sentiment. In an attempt to strip the locks of their presumed meaning, it becomes obvious that we cannot remove the intricate, unique differences of hair to identity; physical evidence of the self! What is a lock of hair worth?