Anna Ehrenstein: Inverted Appropriation

Anna Ehrenstein: Inverted Appropriation

2019, wall work, 120 x 120 cm

Anna Ehrenstein’s installation at the Corneous Stories exhibition consists of two separate works dealing with the complexities of labour and material culture regarded as fake. 

Dominant structures intersect with intellectual property law to enforce neocolonial systems of oppression based on constructions around fake; in the installation, particularly around Gucci, stiletto nails and hair extensions. The installation examines cultural appropriation of material cultures, specific to minorities, by dominant groups who perceive it as an “enrichment” of their own culture. 

The same definition of appropriation shapes discourses around “box braids”, an African hairstyle, which serve the artist as material for the wall work. While White Hollywood gets Coolness and generates Capital with this particular way of braiding, African American Women lose their jobs along the way. In Albania, this braiding style has been trendy for several years, as well. 

From the work cycle Tales of Lipstick and Virtue, 2016–2019. Produced by Anna Ehrenstein and Bazament Art Space Tirana.

As part of Corneous Stories, Anna Ehrenstein will also present the Superior Fakes art education project.