Lea Culetto: Combing Through
Solo exhibition
11 April – 6 May 2025
Škuc Gallery, Stari trg 21, Ljubljana
Exhibition opening: Friday, 11 April, 7 pm
Artist: Lea Culetto
Curators: Urška Aplinc, Lara Plavčak
The exhibition Combing Through, on view at Škuc Gallery from 11 April to 6 May 2025, presents Lea Culetto’s latest project in which she explores the socio-cultural significance of hair and hairiness. From a feminist perspective, the exhibition explores the history of hair and its duality – simultaneously alive and dead, valued and loathed – uncovering myths and narratives in which hair symbolised power and identity, but was more often used to control the female body, which had (and still has) to conform to patriarchal norms of beauty and subordination. The exhibition is a co-production with Škuc Gallery and continues a long-standing collaboration.
15 April 2025, 4 – 6:30 pm: Discover the World of Biotextiles: presentation and workshop with Petra Jerič
For ages 16+. No prior knowledge is required. A 5 EUR fee covers the cost of materials and is payable upon receipt of an invoice after registration at: lara.plavcak@scca-ljubljana.si.
18 April 2025, 5 – 7 pm, and 19 April 2025, 12 – 1 pm: Experimental Workshop on Making Biobeads for Jewellery with Lea Culetto
For ages 16+. No prior knowledge is required. A 5 EUR fee covers the cost of materials and is payable upon receipt of an invoice after registration at: lara.plavcak@scca-ljubljana.si.
25 April 2025, 6 pm: Viewing of the exhibition with the curators and the artist – in Slovene, accompanied by a Slovene sign language interpreter.
26 April 2025, 11 am – 1 pm: Workshop on bioplasticine for children with Lea Culetto
For ages 7+. Free of charge. Registration at: info@skuc.org.
6 May 2025, 6 pm: Final viewing of the exhibition with the curators – in English.
Hair. Valued as long as it is alive. As long as it grows on the right parts of the body. Desirable, as long as it has the right colour, texture, thickness, shape and length. As long as it is tamed. As long as it doesn’t fall out. Undesirable when dead. It arouses unpleasant feelings, shame and even disgust. With the exception of the hairs that have been deliberately removed. The first curl of a child’s hair in a memory book. A lock of hair of an absent loved one in a locket. These become objects that transcend the material body. A memory with DNA. A talisman.
– Lea Culetto
Combing Through is Lea Culetto’s latest project, in which she explores the socio-cultural significance of hair and hairiness. From a feminist perspective, she explores the history of hair and its duality – simultaneously alive and dead, valued and loathed – uncovering myths and narratives in which hair symbolised power and identity, but was more often used to control the female body, which had (and still has) to conform to patriarchal norms of beauty and subordination.
On the wall in the entrance area, a poem by Australian artist Michele Elliot introduces us to the exhibition. It tells of a woman, or perhaps a girl, with a thick, luscious braid of hair that seems full of life. However, a sinister premonition creeps into this vision, a fear of the prophetic dreams in which the braid transforms into a snake that strangles its owner. Such duality can also be found in mythology. Goddesses and nymphs often derive their power from their long hair, yet at the same time, their hair is also their weakness, exploited by gods and mortals alike in their attempts to dominate them. Stripping them of their strength or subjugating them, they cut their hair, while even the mere threat of its loss becomes a means of control. On the other side of the space, a bundle of thorny branches is bound by a chain of the artist’s felted hair, a material that is often interchangeable with the braid in myths.
In the first space on the left, the artist presents her findings from the exploration of the mythology and history of hair in the form of a large constellation – a mind map. Each star on the wall stands for a specific concept and Culetto interlinks the stars according to the occurrence of this concept in different historical epochs and myths. Hair, for instance, takes us to symbolism and stories, then to myths and goddesses, and from there to Dali, the Georgian goddess with golden hair that shines like the sun. The mind map can be explored in more detail via a QR code. A constellation opens on the screen, where each concept is enriched with quotes or web links that explain it. In this sense, Culetto maps her explorative and creative process, while several motifs in the constellation, from the chain and the votive doll to bioplastic and hair jewellery, are further developed in other works on display.
The walls of the next space are adorned with an endless motif of chains and thorns, bristling like hair sprouting after a shave. The glance and the step lead us to a mirror on the floor which alludes to the lakes used by fairies in fairy tales to comb their long, magical hair. A string of biobeads has been placed on it. As they are freshly made, they will continue to change in shape and colour over the course of the exhibition through drying and other natural processes. The artist crafts them from alginate, often incorporating her own ground-up, burnt hair as a natural dye. Because it decays so slowly, hair is our connection to transience – jewellery made from hair is one of the most intimate ways to remember loved ones. In the sentimental spirit of the Victorian era, such mourning jewellery was particularly popular. There were also wreaths woven from the hair of the deceased and similar artisanal pieces made by specialised craftsmen. Even today, a lock of hair enclosed in a locket remains a cherished way to keep a loved one close forever.
Culetto creates a dreamlike atmosphere in the space showing her two videos by projecting them onto the transparent curtains she has sewn herself. Alongside sustainable technologies, she has also mastered crafts and handicrafts, which were traditionally considered women’s work and therefore inferior. In the first video, there is a sequence of microscopic enlargements of hair and hairy skin, footage of cutting, the sound of an epilator and a demonstration of the process of making biobeads with hair pigment, culminating in a finished necklace. The second video shows how the artist uses hair pigment to make ink, which she then uses for drawing and writing.
In the largest space, we move through the curtains, passing the thorns (hair-ink drawing), brushes, a forget-me-not (hair embroidery) and coiffured hairy legs (screenprint), before arriving at the main house altar. It consists of a solid wooden mirror, a small rag doll made with the artist’s hair, biobeads and objects from the artist’s creative process. The doll represents a kitchen witch, a figure from Northern European traditions believed to protect the hearth and ward off evil spirits. Culetto uses objects in recipes for the production of biobeads that remind of witchcraft in the precision of their processes. Her art practice also aligns with the witchcraft ethos of coexistence with nature through the deliberate use of second-hand materials, such as the curtains and other fabrics in the exhibition. Above all, she combines contemporary witchcraft practices with feminist perspectives on the freedom of the female body and mind, while building communities which emphasise spirituality, collaboration, responsibility, shared knowledge and joy as a form of resistance.
Urška Aplinc and Lara Plavčak
Lea Culetto (1995) graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design at the University of Ljubljana in 2019. Since then, she has been working as a self-employed artist accredited by the Ministry of Culture in the field of the visual arts with a focus on feminism. She questions ideals, taboos and notions of the female body through objects and installations that she creates with textiles and mixed media. She usually draws on personal experience. She has presented her work in solo shows at Miklova hiša Gallery (Ribnica), Aksioma (Ljubljana), Ravnikar Gallery Space (Ljubljana), Božidar Jakac Gallery (Kostanjevica na Krki), Kresija Gallery (Ljubljana), Likovni salon Celje (Center for Contemporary Arts, Celje) and MGLC Švicarija, where she was an artist in residence (2021–2023). She has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including Returning the Gaze (Cukrarna, 2022), Body and Territory (Kunsthaus Graz, 2023) and For Your Pleasure (MG+, 2023). She is creatively involved with various international festivals where she either exhibits, e.g. City of Women, Red Dawns, Lesbian Quarter and Festival Račka, or leads workshops, e.g. Bobri (Ljubljana, 2021). She participated as a mentor in The Old Continent project at MGLC Švicarija (Ljubljana, 2022) and as a costume designer (upon the invitation of Varja Hrvatin) in the performances Shame on You (Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, 2022), Ikigai (Celje City Theatre, 2023) and SUKEBAN (Cankarjev dom, City of Women, Ljubljana, 2024). As a visual artist, she was selected to participate in the SAiR project (Sustainability is in the Air, 2023–2025), which is organised by the International Centre of Graphic Arts Ljubljana. (Photo: personal archive)
Michele Elliot is an Australian artist and occasional writer whose practice spans sculpture, textiles, drawing, and installation. She lives and works on Wodi Wodi Country.
Visiting
Entry to the exhibition and all accompanying events is free of charge. Škuc Gallery is equipped with a ramp for persons with reduced mobility at the entrance (width 150 cm) and in the space (width 106 cm). The inner courtyard and the toilets of the gallery are not accessible to wheelchair users. Accessible toilets are available at the Druga violina restaurant next door. Please contact the restaurant staff for assistance. The toilet in the gallery is gender-neutral. Free tap water is available. The gallery is not equipped with a hearing loop. As we want to make the visit to the exhibition safe also for people with compromised immune systems, we recommend the use of protective masks. Dogs are welcome. The staff can provide a bowl of water for them.
Arriving
The nearest bus stop to the gallery is Gornji trg (180 m), where bus lines 2, 3, 11, 19 and 27 stop. More information is available on the LPP website or by calling LPP (+386 1 582 2425, +386 51 449 992). Most buses are equipped with a ramp, but we still recommend that you call LPP to inquire about the accessibility of the bus during your time slot. The gallery is in the pedestrian zone in the centre of Ljubljana. The nearest driveway for cars is 50 m away. The streets in the immediate vicinity are paved. You can catch a ride with the free Kavalir vehicle service in the pedestrian zone, which can be ordered from 6 am to 10 pm by phone (+386 31 666 331, +386 31 666 332). Some vehicles are accessible for wheelchair users; we advise you to call ahead to inquire. The nearest payable car park with disabled parking (8) is NUK II. near Emonska cesta (500 m), the nearest disabled car park (1) for short-term parking is at Levstikov trg (100 m). For more information, contact JP LPT (+386 1 300 1200). A map of the accessibility of locations in the centre of Ljubljana and other useful information is also available on the website of the Slovenian Paraplegic Association.
Organisation: World of Art/SCCA-Ljubljana, Škuc Gallery
Slovene proofreading: Inge Pangos
English translation: Arven Šakti Kralj
Design: Lea Jelenko
Poem: Michele Elliot
Slovene translation of the poem: Ana Makuc
Support: Municipality of Ljubljana – Department for Culture, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia
Partner: Slovenian Jewelry Week 2025
Sponsors: Center ponovne uporabe, d.o.o., SO.P.; Resnik Glass d.o.o.
Acknowledgements: Maja, Zoran, Miha, Gabu, to everyone who donated curtains.
Lea Culetto created her artworks as part of the Sustainability is in the AiR (SAiR) residency project, which connects residency centers in Ljubljana (MGLC Švicarija), Prague (MeetFactory), Madrid (Matadero), and Athens (Snehta). The project is funded by the European Union (Creative Europe Programme).
