On April 24th 2020, day 39 of Covid-19 quarantine, I bleached my virgin black hair and dyed it teal-blue for a self portrait Polaroid triptych at Antelope Poppy National Reserve.
Normally, I would just hire a blue-haired female model... but instead I went a little drastic with a new quarantine hairdo.
Turns out, I love it! Shocker, since my favorite colors are teal and orange. I had such an incredible day dressed in orange with blue hair, surrounded by orange poppies and a whimsical blue sky above that I was inspired to start a new project, a social experiment meets photo 365. (Photos updated daily in the gallery below.)
Start date: June 1st 2020.. the day I was supposed to start my art residency at Chateau Orquevaux in the South of France. Due to Covid, my residency for France in postponed until June 2021; therefore, my husband and I have decided to escape to the Redwood Forest in Humboldt County and seclude myself amongst nature for an inspiring, makeshift art residency. All of which will be spent dressed in orange and blue.
The Social Experiment
Dark Hair vs. Blue Hair
Blue hair has opened some new doors for me. I am the same person, yet I have noticed that strangers, family and friends all respond better to me with blue hair.
It has been reported that people find me intimidating when they first meet me. Some even tell me they thought I was a total B-word when they first met me. But it was all judgement based; and I strongly believe it was from having black hair that covered my face with bangs.
Would my life be significantly different just by changing the color of my hair?.. I'm going to find out!
Color Impact On Mood
If you follow me on Instagram, you may know by now that my favorite colors are orange and blue. When choosing to dye my own hair, Los Angeles was already a month and a half into quarantine... and I needed a mood boost. I decided to wear an orange dress with my new teal hair to prance around the Poppy's.
I had a wonderful day and noticed how happy it made me to simply wear orange and blue. What I wear is a simple task that I can control to improve my happiness on a daily basis.
I am searching for two answers through this concept; first, Can I control my mood based simply on the color of my clothes? Second, How much happier could I be dressing in my favorite colors everyday?
365 Project
As a part of my project, I will document each day with a Polaroid self portrait. I am interested to see if there will be a noticeable difference in my appearance over the year.
Looking forward to sharing this experiment with you!
<3 Film Collage Artist
Erin Delsigne
For a behind the scenes view, instant film projects and recent work: follow @filmcollageartist on instagram.
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