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Part of
A Comparative Literary History of Modern Slavery: The Atlantic world and beyond
Edited by Karen-Margrethe Simonsen, Madeleine Dobie and Mads Anders Baggesgaard
[Comparative History of Literatures in European Languages XXXVII] 2025
► pp. 368–379

Chapter 20
Hair and body fashion identity narratives in The Return of the Slaves exhibition

This chapter focuses on crazinisT artisT’s exhibition/re-enactment of the transatlantic slavery historical narratives in the Ghanaian experience titled “The Return of the Slaves” in the year 2015. The re-enactment dramatises the suffering of the captives in a 12-hour durational event in Elmina Castle. Analysis is centred on the Afrocentric hairstyles and body fashion of the principal artist and other participating artist-collaborators. This study also analyses the relation to the stigmatisation of the captives vis-à-vis the modern Ghanaian’s attitude to rasta-hair and other Afrocentric hairstyles. The findings revealed issues of hair and skin colour politics associated with transatlantic slave trade, which have trickled down to contemporary Ghanaian societies such as proscribing a particular hairdo in public schools, a phenomenon that needs thorough deprogramming.
Keywords: hair, Afrocentric hairstyles, body fashion, re-enactment, blacks, narratives, exhibition, stigmatization, identity, transatlantic slave trade
Article outline
  • Who is crazinisT artisT?
  • Slavery and stigmatization of black Africa
  • Analysis of the Art piece / Re-enactment and perspectives on actual identity issues
  • Conclusion
  • Author queries
  • References
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
References (25)
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