Laetitia Ky Is Turning Natural Hair into Sculptural Art

Laetitia Ky has transformed natural hair into a unique art form. The artist uses her  hair to create sculptures exploring African identity, feminism and women’s experiences.

She was born in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in 1996, and  grew up surrounded by women who braided their hair. Ky learnt braids from a young age before entering in fashion. After high school, she gradually returned to wearing her natural hair and began experimenting with different styles.

Photo: Instagram/@laetitiaky

Ky’s work gained attention through social media al media, where she began sharing photographs of her sculptural hairstyles.  She has since turned her hair into objects, figures and other forms.

Ky uses her natural hair together with extensions, thread and wire to create her sculptures. Depending on the design, a piece takes 30 minutes to six hours. She then captures the finished work using a camera and tripod.

Photo: Instagram/@laetitiaky

Her inspiration is connected to African hair traditions. Ky has seen images of historical African hairstyles and was amazed by their complexity.

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Moreover, her art talks about the complicated relationship many Black women have with their natural hair. Ky has described growing up in an environment where straight hair was a standard influenced by colonial ideas. She  eventually turned that experience into an exploration of natural hair, identity and self-acceptance.

Photo: Instagram/@laetitiaky

Ky has used her hair to address subjects including sexism, violence against women, politics and problems affecting women and girls.

Ky has collaborated with Marc Jacobs, creating hair sculptures for promotional images featuring the brand’s products.

Photo: Instagram/@laetitiaky

Ky works can be found in her book Love & Justice, which shows photographs of her hair sculptures. In one project, she worked with her younger sister Florencia, creating sculptural hairstyles that represented their close relationship and trust.