In Prague, a year before The Berlin Wall fell, I was on assignment and there was very little of anything.  There was little to eat, and few affordable luxuries.  Young singles had no access to expressive clothes, and women had no cosmetics.  But what they did have was their hair:  impeccably arranged, dramatically styled, everyone’s most-important attribute.


It opened my eyes to the subtleties and expressive beauty of hair across cultures, and how people of all orientations use it.  This is a small sample of a long-term project.

Young boy with afro-textuired hair and mother's hand on the street in downtown Detroit.
Man and woman with Italian hairstyles seen from behind on the street in Venice, Italy.
Girl with hair bun and orange shorts seen from behind with surfer on beach in Oceanside California.
Older Italian man with glasses and checkered shirt seen from behind with red car in Rome Italy.
Woman with bright-red hair yellow jacket and 35-mm camera photographing in downtown Brussels Belgium.
Older woman with gray hair seen from behind looking at wig and hat store window in Brussels Belgium.
Young blonde woman seen from behind sitting at cafe table with footbridge in background in Venice, Italy.
Young woman with hair bun and cell phone standing next to a fresco of a young woman in Pompeii, Italy.
Many with gray hair and blue overalls working on machinery in a classic car garage.
Young woman with very long red hair seen from behind walking down Viale die Colli Portuensi in Rome Italy.
Older woman with short orange hair seated in front of a store with green awning in Venice Italy.
Gray haired man in bright blue sport coat walking down the street near Riva degli Schiavoni in Venice Italy.
© Guy Mangiamele, 2024.  All rights reserved.  Please do not copy, use, or distribute these images without my express permission; help us all protect the integrity of the arts.