The Curly Blows, Cuts and Curlers display will run at the Museum of Liverpool
‘Roller girls’ in Liverpool, 2010(Image: The Caravan Gallery)
A new exhibition celebrating Liverpool’s love of hair is coming to Merseyside. A new photographic display called Curly Blows, Cuts and Curlers, will run at the Museum of Liverpool from Friday, October 3, until Sunday, March 8 next year.
From the iconic mop tops of The Beatles to the “curly blows” that have defined the Scouse look, the display will explore the city’s connections between hair salons, identity and community. The display will take place inside the museum’s Skylight Gallery.
Visitors will get to see rarely seen images from the museum’s own collection that are not usually on display.
The display features the work of renowned photographers, including Alex Hurst, Abdullah Badwi, Paul Trevor, and The Caravan Gallery, each offering a distinct lens on the city’s salons, barbershops, and beloved “style queens”.
Together, these photographs explore stories of family, fashion, pride, and place in a city that isn’t afraid to glow up.
Gallagher’s Pub and Barbers, 2013(Image: The Caravan Gallery)
Kay Jones, curator at Museum of Liverpool, said: “It’s been a great experience delving into the museum’s collections revealing amazing photographs which tell a multitude of stories about hair, identity, and the city.
“The images have really been brought to life incorporating the previously untold stories of people featured the photographs alongside the personal insights of the photographers inspired to take the shots.
“What is very apparent is the importance of salons and barbers in our communities bringing people together, while helping us to express our unique personal styles overtime, often in fun and outrageous ways!”
Pam’s on Coronation Road in Crosby (1998)(Image: Alex Hurst/British Culture Archive)
From barbers to high-street salons, Curly Blows, Cuts and Curlers is a series of 17 photographs that highlights the power of hair.
It opens in the Museum of Liverpool’s Skylight Gallery on October 3 and is free to all visitors.
More information can be found on the Museum of Liverpool website.
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