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M+ Sigg Collection, Hong Kong. By donation, © Song Ta
Song Ta 宋拓
Gray Area 對灰色的容忍
2011
The biggest difference between these two photos is the man’s moustache. This work documents a civil servant who was persuaded by artist Song Ta to grow his facial hair. In the beginning, as the left photo shows, the man’s moustache is barely visible. Male civil servants are not encouraged to have facial hair and so the man was asked by his superior to shave. By documenting natural hair growth, Song reveals how the idea that male civil servants do not grow moustaches is an understood social norm. The title expresses the supervisor’s level of tolerance of facial hair and the control authorities and institutions have over an individual’s body.
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