This project emerged from a personal sense of loss and the need to reclaim nearly forgotten rituals. In the midst of war and displacement, I saw the Sudanese woman’s body as a silent site of resilience. Traditional beauty practices especially hair braiding were never acts of vanity, but tools of survival and expressions of
identity, belonging, and memory. Braids of Identity reintroduces this endangered practice as a living archive that carries resistance, longing, and cultural continuity. Through the intimate ritual of hair braiding, the work explores how beauty becomes a way to resist disappearance and reclaim space.
A bold, dramatic hairstyle often seen in festive and intimate gatherings. It expresses the presence and strength of the woman who wears it, hinting at anticipation, longing, or confrontation.