Hair Memories

Hair
Memories investigates the significance of hair through the lens of herbology within diasporic contexts, foregrounding its aesthetic, social, and cultural functions. Drawing from interdisciplinary frameworks in ethnobotany, the project examines how botanical
knowledge informs and sustains hair care practices across diasporic communities.

Through
an analysis of hair-making as a site of cultural production and historical continuity, these studies emphasize the interrelation between aesthetics and ethnobotanical knowledge. It examines how herbal remedies and ritualized care practices serve as forms of
retention and formation over time.



Ehiko
Odeh is a multidisciplinary artist and educator born in Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria. A graduate of OCAD University with a BFA and a Minor in Creative Writing, she brings words and images into dialogue through her artistic practice.

Her
paintings have appeared in exhibitions across Toronto and abroad, including at United Contemporary, The Artist Project, the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, Abbozzo Gallery, BAND Gallery, Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Kolkata’s Academy of Fine Art, and the Lagos StreetSouk
Festival. Beyond the studio, she has hosted workshops at the University of Toronto, The Nia Centre, The Living Arts Centre. Ehiko has also garnered recognition from the Member of Parliament for Richmond Hill, Ontario (2023) and her artwork was recently acquired
by the Government of Ontario (2025).



Meet the Artist:
Thursday July 23, 2026, from 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm


?Gallery
hours: Mon. – Thur.: 9:00 am – 9:00 pm;

Fri.
– Sat.: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm



event link: https://www.artottawa.ca/event-details/hair-memories