Protective Styles Zine
Protective Styles, Vol. 1 is an interactive zine that calls attention to the ritual practice in Black hair care routines. It is made up of a collection of visual artworks that explore connections between Blackness, memory, ancestral lineage, and plant matter — each having a critical role in sustaining our collective futures.
For Black hair, protective styles are the different hairstyles that protect our single strands of hair from vulnerability and damage. While the hair strands are delicate as individual strands, like many of us, they are stronger when they come together.
For centuries, Black people have set the most popular trends in style by using our self-presentation to project how we see ourselves in the face of mainstream efforts to distort images of Blackness. The autonomy we have over our self-image and the intention we put into our care practices are foundational forms of care, protection, and self-preservation.
This zine was designed, edited, and published by Mariah Cochran as part of a two-year exploration of braiding as a ritual art practice between 2020-2022. The work was part of her MFA capstone project during Prescott College’s Social and Environmental Arts Practice program.
16 pages
5.5 x 8.5 inches
Fill out the form below to request a printed copy of the zine:
To request multiple copies of Protective Styles, Vol. 1 for your friends, family, classroom, club, gallery, beauty supply store, or hair salon, email mariahjewelart@gmail.com.
