GALLERY

In a still from Duck Test, the artist Sula Bermúdez-Silverman and hair stylist Rachel Dolezal face one another in the mirror of what is seemingly a Black beauty salon. Their skin appears more or less the same shade of what we tend to call white. Their hair is both curly: Bermúdez-Silverman’s thanks to her Black-Puerto Rican and Jewish roots; Dolezal’s thanks to a very fine wig she uses to cover up her own. Bermúdez-Silverman describes her curls as that which ensures she is read as Black. And curls are the tools Dolezal gathered in her arms, when she took one last look around, and left Whiteness behind. For Dolezal, the wigs and the braids kept questioners at bay - until that day one questioner broke through. Throughout Duck test, Dolezal weaves faux locs into the artist’s hair and they engage in pleasant conversation. Upon completion, we see two women of the same skin colour, both with hair that’s not their own, but only one is “truly” Black.