Marianne Costade calls herself an “archaeologist of Black memory,” and her work shows why.
The Franco-Senegalese and Congolese visual artist and cultural archivist has been building a visual archive around ancestral and contemporary African hairstyles since 2021, according to Felix Meritis. Her work uses photography, performance, and self-documentation to explore the history and meaning carried through Black hair.
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Costade’s project began with her photographing herself in different African hairstyles, often using a photo booth as part of the process. Yua Hair notes that she has recreated styles including the Yoruba “Koroba” hairstyle, the Malagasy “Somala” hairstyle, and map braids inspired by cornrow patterns used by enslaved Africans to communicate escape routes.
But her work is not just about beauty. It is about memory. These hairstyles carried identity, culture, status, resistance, and survival across generations. Through each recreation, Costade brings styles that were often overlooked or forgotten back into view.
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Her practice is also rooted in care. Felix Meritis reports that her installations include photography and performance, creating spaces that reflect the intimacy and cultural importance of African hair traditions.
At a time when so much Black history is still challenged or erased, Costade’s work reminds us that hair has always been an archive.
Through every braid, shape, and style, she is helping preserve what history tried to forget.
