Pedro Pinho and Jala created this hair series with Jala’s art crew friends who are all São Paulo-based queer creatives; tattoo artist, DJ, visual artist, actor / dancer. The result is a great opportunity for Jala to hairstyle her heart out, ending in a vivid array of colours and edgy, daring cuts.

How does hair act as an extension of our identity? I think changing hair is definitely a great way to experiment and push ourselves to keep discovering more about who we are. It is something that is temporary but also has a major impact on the people around us because it’s not as fleeting as make up, for example. It was crazy when I realised that the more extreme my hair got, the more self confident I would become. I’ve found that often when people look at you, they don’t see something they would normally consider ugly, but the courage to choose doing it. So even though I get some bad glances, I also attract curious people and create a space for dialogue with new social circles. For me this is the absolute best!!

Can queerness have ‘a look’? What defines queer haircut in your eyes? Well, maybe the exact opposite haha. Queer is not following a pattern so I would say that being in this community means by definition having as many looks as possible. Since we are pushed to discover where we fit in with society we end up researching more about our inner selves, so I think a queer haircut is something that is really personal to its wearer. That being said, considering that we may be less fearful of change and have more need to present ourselves as different and special, a queer haircut could be something that embodies a mix of different, or even contradictory, expressions, like the shaved head with a mullet that seems to be popular nowadays.

How did you decide on the styles and colours for the hair looks in this story? I am a colour addict!! I am actually graduating from art school now, so the models were mostly friends of mine from the local area. Some came with an idea of colour or shape (not too specific though), but most really trusted me to do whatever I wanted to. Of course I have my colour preferences and combinations, like bright red with lime green, but I always talk to the person before about what I am planning and they guide me through their visions. Hair is an important element on how someone sees themselves so creating hairstyles like these is a big responsibility, especially if it’s the person’s first time. Having said that, when the client is not one of my friends I like knowing a bit more about them first, so I can gauge what their energy is and how far they are willing to go with colour and shape. Only then I can really think about something that suits them!