# Project Description Sovereignty of Hair Jiawen Li Summary Final work A photographer with a deep passion for capturing images that go beyond the boundaries of fashion. While fashion is at the core of my practice, my love for photography extends to exploring diverse subjects and visual narratives. A photographer with a deep passion for capturing images that go beyond the boundaries of fashion.... College London College of Fashion Course MA Fashion Photography Graduation year 2025 This project stems from my personal experience: in middle school, we were all required to cut our hair short. At the time, I complied, only later realizing this was a form of discipline disguised as “for your own good/uniform management”—an early intervention into women's bodily autonomy. To explore this issue, I interviewed six Chinese women of my generation, documenting their hesitations, struggles, and resistance in choosing hairstyles within family, school, workplace, and public discourse. Simultaneously, I traced modern and contemporary debates on hair and bodily autonomy, constructing a narrative framework of “discipline-exploration/resistance-rebellion. Visually, I use institutional objects — scissors, combs, red thread — to stage ritualized images; I invoke Joan of Arc as a spiritual metaphor, placing hair + armor side by side, and use fire to mark the subject’s energy and boundaries. Hair and flame co-forge an “armor,” intensifying the tension between soft/hard and submission/resistance. I hope these images give form to refusal and self-determination, turning looking itself into a renewed negotiation of power, identity, and choice. Final work Forced Locks Bound by Strands Unruly Hair Hair as Armor Share this project This project stems from my personal experience: in middle school, we were all required to cut our hair short. At the time, I complied, only later realizing this was a form of discipline disguised as “for your own good/uniform management”—an early intervention into women's bodi... A link to this page has been added to your clipboard Browse related work Body Identity Politics Fashion Feminism Hair Photography