ROSALINE’S UNTAMING
A series of intimate portraits on the female African Australian experience through hair. You can watch all four Episodes on ABCTV instaGRAM, Facebook and YouTube, along with Olivias Follow up project “African Pride Series” promoting pride amongst the African Australian community and to shed light on its Sydney creatives, artists and youth.
Rosaline's Untaming is a celebration of black hair and beauty whilst also facilitating in depth candid conversation and storytelling. Each girl invites us into her inner dialogue around her relationship with hair, whilst Rosaline transforms their outer beauty and they share stories and differences around their own experience of growing up in Australia.
This project is the brain child of Director Olivia Suleimon. Olivia struggled with maintaining her afro hair and feeling comfortable wearing it naturally for many years. It wasn't until meeting Rosaline that she began to embrace traditional braidstyles which in turn brought her closer to her Nigerian heritage. Olivia also wanted to create a space and platform for young black women to talk freely about their experience of life in Australia whilst simultaneously looking beautiful, and embracing their natural beauty. From their natural untouched hair to their finished "untamed" look, each girl adorns a different traditional african hairstyle.
EP. 4 Vanessa
Professional and creative, Vanessa Ocansey talks on her power and right to wear wigs, and rock as many different hairstyles if she chooses. She also speaks to the fact that wearing wigs can also be a coping mechanism, particularly in professional spaces, and that they can be worn to avoid the many questions and remarks that come when a black woman adorns braids.
Ep. 3 Naomi
Emerging fashion designer and creative Naomi Bockarie speaks to how her Sierra Leone heritage influences everything she does. She emphasises that Africa is so much more than people's pre-existing perceptions of poverty and "world vision ads", but that it is a place of futurism and modernity.
Ep. 2 Abeny
Model, and Medical student, Abeny Kuol takes us on a personal hair journey of internalised racism and textualism. This has been born out of a need to assimilate into the Australian way of life, juxtaposed against her South Sudanese background. She highlights how reductive and emotionally painful it can be to constantly feel the need to fit yourself into other peoples ideals, and that by changing her hair, she has been able to fully embrace her black identity and heritage.
Ep. 1 Olivia
Model, Filmmaker and DJ Olivia Suleimon, speaks of her pride in her mixed Australian and Nigerian heritage. She talks to the isolating nature of the African Australian experience due to lack of representation and comments on feeling like the only one growing up in white spaces.
The series is Directed by Olivia Suleimon, Co-Directed by Yasmin Suteja of Culture Machine and Produced by Julia Corcoran of Ripple Pictures | Watch on Instagram, ABCTV & Youtube