Meet Sandy Klowak of Corporeal Curios and her unique handiwork -

I create custom art and keepsakes with human and pet hair, based on the historic craft of Victorian hairwork, which exploded in popularity during the 1800s. Hairwork was used to memorialize the dead as well as to celebrate friendship, romantic bonds and kinship between the living. The techniques I use are historic, but I bring my own modern perspective to this traditional art form.

Hair has the power to immortalize our bodies through art. I’m fascinated by historic artefacts made from organic matter that have survived as tangible strands of history, connecting us directly to the bodily existence of people from the past. And I’m honoured to contribute to continuing that tradition.

I love working with a material as culturally charged as human hair, which holds a uniquely polarizing and conflicting influence. Hair is coveted and worshipped when it appears in socially acceptable places, yet it’s reviled, and considered revolting and even frightening when it shows up somewhere undesirable, or in unsanctioned forms. It evokes strong reactions and invites us to engage with concepts of gender, race, power, control/chaos, and more.

Adding pet hair to my repertoire has allowed me to expand my work to help honour and memorialize four-legged loved ones. I create commissions for my clients from all types of hair.