DONNA LOWSON

HOME Human hair, nails, wood, glass 25cm x 25cm £150 Home is a word that has held different meaning for me throughout my life. As a child it was a place of safety - a sanctuary where I felt secure. But as a young adult it became something entirely different. My experience with domestic and emotional abuse turned what should have been a refuge into a place of confinement and fear. This tension between safety and entrapment is at the core of my latest piece 'Home' where human hair sourced from salon waste explores the complex realities of home. Creating this piece involved wrapping delicate strands of hair around nails to form the outline of a house. The tension in each strand representing the fragility and resilience within those within, reminded me of how home can easily shift from been a sanctuary to becoming a prison. Using discarded hair felt symbolic of how society often overlooks those who are vulnerable, much like the hair that is swept away and forgotten. Yet, these strands carry stories - stories of people living with the tension of home of both a place of comfort and suffering. The tendrils of hair rising like smoke capture this, representing the warmth of home and that harsh reality, that for some, that home is on the verge of "going up in smoke". Encasing the piece in a shadow box was my way of acknowledging the delicate balance between protection and entrapment. 'Home' is deeply personal, reflecting my journey from childhood to young adulthood and the urgent need for homes that offer true safety and support, free from fear and harm. @donnalowsonart www.donnalowson.wixsite.com/donna-lowson