THE SALON LIVES ON...
HONEST CUTS
HONEST CUTS
is a free hair salon collaboratively run by artists and aspiring hairdressers Olga Abeleva and Nadya Isabella.
“What’s essential to our salon is that it’s free. After each haircut we ask that [the patron] write an honest review… like an analog Yelp.” — the Artists in Conversation
The project started as a small community initiat
their shared painting studio into an impromptu s
By offering their services for free, the artists re-im
service providers, resisting the urge to predicate
of capital. Instead, these interactions become ce
tive in Vancouver, where the artists transformed
salon, setting it up differently for each customer.
magine the relationship between customers and
e interpersonal relationships upon the exchange
entred on the act of giving and receiving care.
With the motto “no sk
each haircut i
” , d e v l o ills and v n i no money
s an
exerc ise
in trust.
“At the end of the day its about our friendship, there are no strict rules… We’ve never really rejected an idea.”
— the Artists in Conversation
With time, Abeleva and Isabella have gained enough technical skills to embody their barber alter egos with confidence, experimenting with limited resources to provide free creative solutions for the community, and satisfying dreams of luxury without a bill to foot.
The project is sustained by the ongoing relationship between the salon and their clients; without the community’s support, this enterprise would cease to exist. Honest Cuts credits their customers with being the true inspiration behind the technical innovations, styles, and aesthetic of the business.
“Want to spice up your look and spend zero dollars? You don’t have to drown in self-doubt anymore, because we have the perfect solution for this… Honest Cuts Level Bangs is here… Call Honest Cuts now!” — Level Bangs infomercial
An essential part of Honest Cuts is their promotional campaign, devoted to studying the semiotics of advertising. Honest Cuts is interested in the absurdity of visual expression in capitalism, and parodies various advertising methodologies. Drawing from their background in painting, both artists promote the business through a series of painted signs. This provides an opportunity to rethink the expressive role of painting by extracting a utilitarian functionality to communicate a direct message to the public.
Initially conceived as a joint residency in The New Gallery’s Main Space, Honest Cuts had to reimagine their project since COVID-19 has rendered it impossible for the artists to interact with customers in conventional ways. As legitimate owners of an imaginary business, Abeleva and Isabella have adapted to the new situation.
Now that hair experiments are no longer bound by the logic of the physical world, the audience is invited to experience the fantasy of Honest Cuts in cyberspace. A collection of tricks, techniques, inventions, and DIY instructions are available for viewing pleasure on TNG’s website.
“No bullshit cuts! No lousy forced conversations! Good heated gossip and dripping banter catching up with current events.” — Honest Review
“Honest Cuts was one of the most wonderful hairdressing experiences of my life. My dreams of looking like a dashing footballer are now a stunning reality.” — Honest Review
“Here at Honest Cuts, we encourage risk-taking!” — Hair Catcher infomercial
“She was a hairdresser… for the world…” — A Cut Apart trailer
The Salon is closed a note taped on the window explains its closure
Graphite shadow It is night
Returning nightly for my standing appointment
The hairdresser’s cursive blurs To read it, I rewrite it
Hollowed out dot over the i from my window
The Salon has undergone some renovations since I first looked in
I borrow ATTENTION Due to the present situation
I mistake the clock tower for the moon
our Salon is closed. We apologize for any inconvenience
I mistake the reason for this closure as the night
Looking forward to a healthier time Regards, A.
I imagine the Salon’s activity
Apology on glass: Bare linoleum floor and walls Abandoned vanity a painting rests on its side Salon equipment cocoon “Hair grows,” a friend says I rewrite it Hair continues
My hair grew long I remember ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ( )
On a bridge I said I stopped shampooing
Combing
punctuates
Hair between cuts between shampoos
trimmings
measures time between
parenthetical
strands of hair are cut dashes and pieces of texts – after ASCII drawings online \ \ \ ) ) ) ) ) ) \ ) ) ) ) I struggle to find language at the barber I perform the customer getting a variation on a buzz I wonder how others talk about hair to their cutter The razor whirs I gently roll my head down Reading my lap The blades graze my neck grit around my ears whisper and
ask about a girl who
kisses my nape as itchy as the clipper I think about my posture wet hair Mist settles on the shop gown like dew Small talk passes
[snip]
~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~ ~
Friends cut hair catch-up I asked Nadya to give me a haircut Our third one together We agreed on a Tuesday In the garden A day off for both of us I recall our first It left me an impression A mess of bits of hair, dust and debris from my studio floor mixed on the dustpan My hair, materials and ecology dirt glittered through Perhaps the haircutter off work paints Brushes are assembled from cut hair The haircutter approaches a shape The painter approaches a head Gestures–cuts shed mass, render volume mark time a texture make edges split ends spilt 0r perhaps cuts the lawn A convivial cut We talk through my indecision and end up finding the words long, bangs in the yard A mirror reflects the afternoon The rake combs my cut hair with the grass clippings It collects a time mass -Christian Vistan
“In trying to reach out to our customers… we made a series of paintings that were painted signs for an installation in the window space of The New Gallery. Some of them addressed the [pandemic] because we still wanted to communicate to people who walked by the gallery that we wish we could have been there but we can’t.” — the Artists in Conversation
Christian Vistan is a Filipino-Canadian artist originally from the peninsular province of Bataan. His work has been presented in Canada, US, and the Philippines. He currently lives and works on the unceded territories of the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam, and Tsawwassen Nations.
THE NEW GALLERY ©The New Gallery Press / Exhibited June 19 - August 1, 2020
Designed by Brittany Nickerson / Contributions from Olga Abeleva, Nadya Isabella, Nivedita Iyer, Su Ying Strang, Christian Vistan, and Christina Dongqi Yao ISBN : 978-1-895284-32-4 All photos courtesy of the artists and The New Gallery