Abby Laible

What Grows With Us challenges the quick judgments that are made about others based on their hair. Upon first glance, assumptions are made about a person’s beauty, profession, hobbies, social status, culture and entire way of living; which can diminish, stereotype and misrepresent the complex individuals we all are. This project sets out to reveal the significance of something often dismissed simply as “dead cells,” exposing the real weight bases carry and the harm they leave behind.

Through a series of graphic posters that reframe assumptions as advertisements mocking how casually we package people into stereotypes, we can begin to understand how extensively we box others into categories. Using haircut promotions to highlight judgments as something to be sold, the goal is for the viewer to recognize how normalized assumptions are. Viewers are then invited to interact with the project by physically trying on different hair styles and textures. Rather than just observing differences, participants are asked to inhabit them. What Grows With Us illustrates the power hair holds to shape perception, signal belonging and define identity, ultimately asking to trade assumptions for curiosity and appreciation.