MA DESIGN






EXPANDED PRACTICE    

The power of hair  
                        
danni luo
@dannie311111



This project examines how schools use hair regulations to shape students’ bodies and, more importantly, their identities. Hair—often a personal and cultural expression—becomes a site where discipline, conformity, and social expectations intersect. Through interviews and cross-cultural research in the UK, China, and Morocco, the project reveals how these regulations reflect deeper issues of gender, ethnicity, class, and institutional control.

The final installation transforms this critique into an empowering experience. Participants momentarily reclaim identity freedom by choosing a hairstyle that represents who they want to be. The system then generates a new “ID card,” allowing them to step into an alternative identity unbound by institutional norms. Through the simple yet powerful act of choosing hair, the work offers a temporary space of autonomy and self-definition.