Bivakmutsen gebreid van mensenhaar & foto op Alumount 80x80 cm.

Balaclavas knitted from human hair & photo printed on Alumount 80x80 cm.

Origin: Avatar
In Hindu (Sanskrit) philosophy, an avatar, avatara or avatarim most commonly refers to the incarnation.
Today: Avatar
Within the virtual world, in which people meet nowadays, one assumes a certain identity through a so-called avatar. This is an icon or photo, which accompanies the communication.

The first balaclava (Avatar Martine) is an almost direct copy from the magazine ‘Mc Call’s Needlework & Crafts’ from 1965. I was pleased to find this balaclava in an American magazine. Today such a cap would be impossible in the Western world. Balaclavas are so emotionally charged, that ideas of an ordinary cap, which protects against cold, is not from this age anymore. Balaclavas have a very different impact nowadays. The balaclava is a signal for society: “Watch out! Terrorism! and Danger!”
The other exemplary from the serial ‘Avatar’ are made by own design. The faces on the balaclavas are very contemporary: Identity and the fear of loosing it, but also possibilities of choosing new / different identities in the digital world are nowadays issues.
The series portraits named Avatar show people wearing balaclavas made out of human hair. An estranged image in which the identity of the one becomes veiled with the hair of the other. All models got a preference choice which Avatar to wear. Posing with their ‘balaclava type’ a surprising inner picture of the models arise.