tomihiro kono presents the art of wig making at milan's spazio maiocchi

milan’s spazio maiocchi presents PERSONAS 111 – the art of wig making, a book by japanese hair artist, head prop designer and wig maker tomihiro kono. along its 180 pages, the book explores the artist’s journey through hair experimentations, transformations and possibilities. photographed by sayaka maruyama, the images flow between western and eastern perspectives, dreamy imaginaries and contemporary approaches where just one model and many, many wigs showcase the transformative nature of this object.

in a way, hairstyles define us. they are deeply related to our identity. having the ability of transforming who we are, they can reflect our personality or even hide it. they are like masks, we can make ourselves look like a completely different individual when we change it or more easily, when we wear a wig. changing how we look is an act of self-reflection, self-assertion, and self-defense. we live our contemporary world defining ourselves, and being defined by the others.

‘my wigs are artefacts to encourage and foster continuous transformation,’ comments tomihiro kono. ‘so, ask who you want to be, choose your wig, and step into your new life.’

at spazio maiocchi, visitors will have the chance to try on kono’s wigs, the customer face masks made in collaboration with collina strada and to browse his latest book as well as the previous one, HEAD PROP studies 2013-2016.

‘in latin times a persona was a mask; today our digital masks have turned into persons that amplify our individual digital essence, letting our fake and intangible identities take over. tomihiro kono’s wigs are a reaction to our digital society and a way to reclaim our physicality: with his creations the artist and designer invites us indeed to go over a physical, rather than digital, transformation. a wig by tomihiro kono is therefore a “mask-thrix” – a mask for the hair (“thrix” meaning “hair” in greek), a symbol of an existential drama and the possibility of taking up not just one role, but multiple ones. by wearing a wig by tomihiro kono you can be anything and anyone but yourself. the promise is alluring. enter the mask-thrix.’ – anna battista