What Touches the Scalp is Close to the Bone: Group Show in Paris
A group exhibition titled 'What Touches the Scalp is Close to the Bone' is on view in Paris until June 10, 2026. The show is a collaboration between Hunna Art (Kuwait) and London-based nomadic gallery Hayaty Diaries, curated by Christina Shoucair. It features ten artists exploring hair as a medium for identity, femininity, and societal norms. Works include Yasmina Hilal's sculptural 'This Body Remembers and Continues' (2026) and 'Portrait d’Identité 1976/2026' (2026), Mahsa Merci's 'In and Out Is An Illusion' (2024) and 'I Am Carrying You From My Childhood to Adulthood' (2025), Samo Shalaby's 'The Other Woman' (2023), Maliha Abidi's oil painting of women plaiting hair, and Raya Kassisieh's braided canvas. The exhibition text quotes Solange Knowles: 'Don't touch my hair / When it's the feelings I wear.'
Key facts
- Exhibition title: What Touches the Scalp is Close to the Bone
- Runs until June 10, 2026
- Location: Paris
- Collaboration between Hunna Art (Kuwait) and Hayaty Diaries (London)
- Curated by Christina Shoucair
- Ten artists featured
- Yasmina Hilal shows This Body Remembers and Continues (2026) and Portrait d’Identité 1976/2026 (2026)
- Mahsa Merci shows In and Out Is An Illusion (2024), I Am Carrying You From My Childhood to Adulthood (2025), and 1+1 Finding the Shape of the Violence (2025)
- Samo Shalaby shows The Other Woman (2023)
- Maliha Abidi and Raya Kassisieh also included
- Exhibition text references Solange Knowles song 'Don't Touch My Hair'
- Focus on hair as autobiography and femininity
Entities
Artists
- Yasmina Hilal
- Mahsa Merci
- Samo Shalaby
- Maliha Abidi
- Raya Kassisieh
- Christina Shoucair
- Solange Knowles
Institutions
- Hunna Art
- Hayaty Diaries
- Canvas
Locations
- Paris
- Kuwait
- London