I am not one of those rebellious types who believe that rules are made to be broken, but I am convinced that they are always open to be rewritten. How else could progression and feedback occur?
The Rules of this project were generally rather amorphous, and developed organically as the project proceeded. As such, this page of rules is rather notesy in form, and I see no particular need to change it. Reading about the individual encounters will help you further understand the rules if you wish to.
Every encounter had its own character and feel. In some encounters I did some things, in some encounters I did others, but there were a few behaviours that were repeated and kept a constant framework for the project. Some of these ruloes developed logically as the project went ahead.
(It was during exchange #21 with Joel and Chris that it became very clear to me that the trigger by which a person initiates an encounter is by making any reference to my hair. After the trigger is done, any potential for triggers is deactivated for that person and for any person who was present a) when the trigger was activated; b) while the cut and post-cut discuassion was taking place; c) during an explanation of what just happened or of the premise of the project.)
Observation 1: to simply remove my hair myself or to outsource this activity to a professional hairdresser would be to negate the process I have undergone in growing the hair.
Intention 1: Through a methodology of hair removal by personal interaction, I hope to reflect on my own rationale for growing it in this way, and also to examine the cultural space in which such expressions of identity are experienced and responded to.
Intension 2: to undertake a ritual performance of the removal of my hair, in the form of a journey through Japan. The hair will be removed from my head by a process of social interaction: whoever takes an interest in my hair, or comments on it, will be asked to cut off one of my dreadlocks.
Observation 2: I have approximately 47 dreadlocks, some of which are formed of up to three or more dreadlocks joined together. At a rate of approximately a dreadlock a day, it will take 47 days to remove my hair. To allow for non-cutting days and extra margin for error, I intend to spend up to 60 days in Japan.
Rule1: Each person who takes an independent interest in my hair - or comments on it in any way - will be entitled to cut off one dreadlock, and help me to decide how to dispose of that lock.
Rule 2: A decision on what to do with the cut locks will be the result of discussion with participants. It is entirely possible that none of the people I meet will want to remove any of my dreadlocks, but nonetheless there will be interactions, and exchanges of ideas.
The exact schedule for the project will be decided along the way, depending on the interactions that occur.
General formula:
Anyone mentioning or taking an interest in or referring to (my / the artist's) hair will be asked to assist in the removal of one of the dreadlocks.
If they agree, they will then be asked advice on what to do with the lock once it has been removed;
This process will continue until all dreadlocks have been removed from the artist's head.
Anyone who has overheard mention of my dreadlocks, seen an encounter, or takes an interest in what I am doing from a point of view that knows I am doing something with my dreadlocks is not entitled to cut off a dreadlock. Noone who knows of the project in advance is entitled to cut off a dreadlock. (I thus kept as few people as possible informed of my intentions)
Exchanges: (the rules concerning exchanges were never completely fixed, and changed from dreadlock to dreadlock):
If a person wants to keep a dreadlock, they will be asked for something in exchange.
The Rules of this project were generally rather amorphous, and developed organically as the project proceeded. As such, this page of rules is rather notesy in form, and I see no particular need to change it. Reading about the individual encounters will help you further understand the rules if you wish to.
Every encounter had its own character and feel. In some encounters I did some things, in some encounters I did others, but there were a few behaviours that were repeated and kept a constant framework for the project. Some of these ruloes developed logically as the project went ahead.
(It was during exchange #21 with Joel and Chris that it became very clear to me that the trigger by which a person initiates an encounter is by making any reference to my hair. After the trigger is done, any potential for triggers is deactivated for that person and for any person who was present a) when the trigger was activated; b) while the cut and post-cut discuassion was taking place; c) during an explanation of what just happened or of the premise of the project.)
Observation 1: to simply remove my hair myself or to outsource this activity to a professional hairdresser would be to negate the process I have undergone in growing the hair.
Intention 1: Through a methodology of hair removal by personal interaction, I hope to reflect on my own rationale for growing it in this way, and also to examine the cultural space in which such expressions of identity are experienced and responded to.
Intension 2: to undertake a ritual performance of the removal of my hair, in the form of a journey through Japan. The hair will be removed from my head by a process of social interaction: whoever takes an interest in my hair, or comments on it, will be asked to cut off one of my dreadlocks.
Observation 2: I have approximately 47 dreadlocks, some of which are formed of up to three or more dreadlocks joined together. At a rate of approximately a dreadlock a day, it will take 47 days to remove my hair. To allow for non-cutting days and extra margin for error, I intend to spend up to 60 days in Japan.
Rule1: Each person who takes an independent interest in my hair - or comments on it in any way - will be entitled to cut off one dreadlock, and help me to decide how to dispose of that lock.
Rule 2: A decision on what to do with the cut locks will be the result of discussion with participants. It is entirely possible that none of the people I meet will want to remove any of my dreadlocks, but nonetheless there will be interactions, and exchanges of ideas.
The exact schedule for the project will be decided along the way, depending on the interactions that occur.
General formula:
Anyone mentioning or taking an interest in or referring to (my / the artist's) hair will be asked to assist in the removal of one of the dreadlocks.
If they agree, they will then be asked advice on what to do with the lock once it has been removed;
This process will continue until all dreadlocks have been removed from the artist's head.
Anyone who has overheard mention of my dreadlocks, seen an encounter, or takes an interest in what I am doing from a point of view that knows I am doing something with my dreadlocks is not entitled to cut off a dreadlock. Noone who knows of the project in advance is entitled to cut off a dreadlock. (I thus kept as few people as possible informed of my intentions)
Exchanges: (the rules concerning exchanges were never completely fixed, and changed from dreadlock to dreadlock):
If a person wants to keep a dreadlock, they will be asked for something in exchange.
