BEAUTY PLUS
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BEAUTY PLUS will be exhibited at MoAD as the first exhibition of the 2026-2027 Emerging Artist Program from March 18th through May 31st, 2026.
Beauty Plus pays tribute to a beloved New Haven beauty supply store that served as more than a retail space—it was a hub of cultural continuity, communal care, and resilience. For over three decades, it provided Black and Brown communities with not only hair-care essentials but also a place to shape identity and share tradition. The store’s closure marked the end of an era, prompting me to return over three months to document its final days and honor Mel, the owner, whose journey from employee at the city’s first Black-owned beauty supply to founder of her own store speaks to a legacy of endurance and self-determination.
Through the slow, deliberate nature of using a 4x5 large format camera, the project captures the physical and emotional imprints left on the space—the cracked mannequins, faded photos, and worn ceilings all tell stories of labor, love, and community. At the same time, it confronts the layered contradictions of beauty supply stores as both sanctuaries and sites of conformity, where tools of self-expression exist within systems that commodify and constrain. “Beauty Plus” does not resolve these tensions but reveals them, offering a complex portrait of ownership, care, and the ongoing struggle for affirmation within structures that both support and challenge identity.
Past Events at MoAD:
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