The diploma work by Irène Mélix is exactly what the description says and nothing more: a hairy wall. But it is hairy in an interesting, convincing, and highly fascinating way. Using a special electrostatic technique, the artist has covered a large surface of irregular shape with six-millimeter synthetic hairs. It should be stressed, however, that this is not just a one-off or a spectacular idea. She has explored different aspects of both motifs – the wall and the hair – in her previous works in various media. The wall to her is no longer a passive object for hanging pictures, but rather a symbolic element which carries many different meanings. The hair adds another one: “Hair is like an extension of the nervous system outside of the body. If skin would be a wall, hair would be the possibility to percolate this wall.”
