Hair Memories
Thu, Jul 23
|OSA Byward Campus
Hair Memories, an exhibition of works by Ehiko Odeh at the J.W. Stellick Gallery
Time & Location
Jul 23, 2026, 5:00 p.m. – Aug 28, 2026, 5:00 p.m.
OSA Byward Campus, 35 George St, Ottawa, ON K1N 8W5, Canada
About the event
Hair Memories investigates the significance of hair through the lens of herbology within diasporic contexts, foregrounding its aesthetic, social, and cultural functions. Drawing from interdisciplinary frameworks in ethnobotany, the project examines how botanical knowledge informs and sustains hair care practices across diasporic communities.
Through an analysis of hair-making as a site of cultural production and historical continuity, these studies emphasize the interrelation between aesthetics and ethnobotanical knowledge. It examines how herbal remedies and ritualized care practices serve as forms of retention and formation over time.
Ehiko Odeh is a multidisciplinary artist and educator born in Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria. A graduate of OCAD University with a BFA and a Minor in Creative Writing, she brings words and images into dialogue through her artistic practice.
Her paintings have appeared in exhibitions across Toronto and abroad, including at United Contemporary, The Artist Project, the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, Abbozzo Gallery, BAND Gallery,…