There’s more to hair than washing, combing and cutting. It’s an extraordinary, renewable fibre with a range of unexpected possibilities. This new exhibition puts the substance before the style and unfurls the untold stories of hair.

From jewellery and dresses to armour and environmental protection, the exhibition highlights the remarkable qualities of hair as a material. It also explores our complex relationship with hair both on, and off, our heads – how and why we care so much about our ‘crowning glory’, and how hair is entangled with society’s expectations and our relationships to others.

The exhibition weaves in the work of artists, film makers and designers with a wide range of objects and archive material reflecting our connection with our hair. Together, they tell personal, powerful and surprising stories, spanning Sheffield hair salons to the global hair trade.

Hair: Untold Stories is the inaugural exhibition created for the Museums and Galleries Network for Exhibition Touring (MAGNET). It was curated by the Horniman Museum and Gardens, in partnership with Goldsmiths, University of London, Tullie House Museum and Gardens and Sheffield Museums Trust.