{"id":572106,"date":"2026-05-08T01:23:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T01:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/572106\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T01:23:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T01:23:16","slug":"irina-werning-chronicles-18-years-of-photographing-las-pelilargas-in-a-new-book-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/572106\/","title":{"rendered":"Irina Werning Chronicles 18 Years of Photographing ‘Las Pelilargas’ in a New Book \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the better part of two decades, Irina Werning<\/a> has traveled throughout Latin America searching for a specific trait: incredibly long hair. In her photography series Las Pelilargas<\/a>\u2014meaning \u201cthe long-haired ones\u201d in Spanish\u2014she chronicles a time-honored Indigenous tradition through a visual celebration of patience, joy, and cultural pride.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Werning shares that when she asks young women in the many small towns she\u2019s visited why they have long hair, they respond with simple reasons akin to, \u201cBecause I like it.\u201d But, Werning adds, \u201cThe true reason is invisible and passes from generation to generation. It\u2019s the culture of Latin America, where our ancestors believed that cutting hair was cutting life, that hair is the physical manifestation of our thoughts and our souls and our connection to the land.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Nearly 90 images are included in Werning\u2019s new book, Las Pelilargas, published by GOST Books. The photos span 18 years, starting with the artist\u2019s first encounter with long-haired women in 2006 in Argentina, when she was photographing members of the Indigenous Kolla<\/a> community. <\/p>\n

\u201cGuided by her intuition, she went on to spend months in remote mountain towns putting up signs in schools, hospitals, and markets, and organising hair competitions in an effort to seek out those with long hair,\u201d GOST says. Werning continued to make the portraits until 2024.\u00a0\u201cShe found that traditions were not just surviving, but evolving\u00a0with long hair symbolising both\u00a0continuity and subtle rebellion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Find your copy on Bookshop<\/a>. You might also enjoy Celia D. Luna\u2019s series, Cholitas Bravas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> now, and support independent arts publishing.<\/p>\n

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