Renell Medrano’s Photographs Capture The Power of Wigs
It’s not every day that Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner drop by art openings—especially not in the midst of New York Fashion Week—but even they knew Renell Medrano‘s new solo show at Milk Studios isn’t one to be missed. “Peluca,” which means “wig” in Spanish, features an installation that recalls the salons that Medrano came to think of as her community as she was growing up in the Bronx. “Growing up, there was such a stigma surrounding wigs. No one talked about it but everyone—my friends, my family—wore them,” the Dominican-American photographer said in a statement. “Peluca,” then, is a celebration of the public’s acceptance of wigs into mainstream culture, primarily through 25 photographs that illustrate the spectrum of the wig’s appeal to faces both old and young, familiar (like a curly haired Dev Hynes) and new. Take a look inside the show, that features hair work by Shingo Shibata, Evanie Fausto, and Sergio Estrada, here.
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Renell Medrano, Nisaa, 2019. Featured in the exhibition “Peluca,” on view at Milk Studios in New York City through September 15, 2019.
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Renell Medrano, Malachai and Imani, 2018. Featured in the exhibition “Peluca,” on view at Milk Studios in New York City through September 15, 2019.
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Renell Medrano, Untitled, 2018. Featured in the exhibition “Peluca,” on view at Milk Studios in New York City through September 15, 2019.
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Renell Medrano, Kim, 2019. Featured in the exhibition “Peluca,” on view at Milk Studios in New York City through September 15, 2019.
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Renell Medrano, Ian Isiah, 2018. Featured in the exhibition “Peluca,” on view at Milk Studios in New York City through September 15, 2019.
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Renell Medrano, Sundari, 2019. Featured in the exhibition “Peluca,” on view at Milk Studios in New York City through September 15, 2019.
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Renell Medrano, Untitled, 2018. Featured in the exhibition “Peluca,” on view at Milk Studios in New York City through September 15, 2019.
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Renell Medrano, Dev Hynes, 2019. Featured in the exhibition “Peluca,” on view at Milk Studios in New York City through September 15, 2019.
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Renell Medrano, Aaliyah and Jupiter, 2019. Featured in the exhibition “Peluca,” on view at Milk Studios in New York City through September 15, 2019.
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Renell Medrano, Aweng, 2018. Featured in the exhibition “Peluca,” on view at Milk Studios in New York City through September 15, 2019.
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Renell Medrano, Malachai, 2018. Featured in the exhibition “Peluca,” on view at Milk Studios in New York City through September 15, 2019.
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Renell Medrano, Jabari and Aaliyah, 2019. Featured in the exhibition “Peluca,” on view at Milk Studios in New York City through September 15, 2019.
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Renell Medrano, Untitled, 2019. Featured in the exhibition “Peluca,” on view at Milk Studios in New York City through September 15, 2019.
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Renell Medrano, Untitled, 2019. Featured in the exhibition “Peluca,” on view at Milk Studios in New York City through September 15, 2019.
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Renell Medrano, Fatima, 2019. Featured in the exhibition “Peluca,” on view at Milk Studios in New York City through September 15, 2019.
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Renell Medrano, Sienna, 2019. Featured in the exhibition “Peluca,” on view at Milk Studios in New York City through September 15, 2019.
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Renell Medrano, Untitled, 2018. Featured in the exhibition “Peluca,” on view at Milk Studios in New York City through September 15, 2019.
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Renell Medrano, Aweng, 2018. Featured in the exhibition “Peluca,” on view at Milk Studios in New York City through September 15, 2019.
