I have for quite some time now focused strictly on the male figure in my work, Unisex (or the incidental earring) is perhaps the most non gender specific work I've made. It wasn't particularly an intentional approach. I was making these barber shop interiors and the word Unisex kept popping up and it felt like the term was almost outdated. When I realized the mirror in the background fell compositionally in a way to make it appear as if this gentleman was wearing a pair of drop earrings I embraced the ambiguity full heartedly. The character immediately reminded me of the hero in one of my favorite movies of all time, "The Legend of Billie Jean" from 1985. midway through the film Billie Jean encounters a film based on the life of Joan of Arc, embracing St. Joans revolutionary spirit, Billie Jean takes up a pair of scissors loping off her movie star blonde locks and transforming into an iconic new age Joan of Arc. The films mantra "Fair is Fair" easily lends itself to current cries from the LGBTQ community, the layers in this movie I swear should be studied more closely! I made a direct nod to the film by including a headshot of Barry Tubb among the other "style choices" photographs often pinned up in barber shops. (it is the one centered on the right edge of the work) Tubb was one of the films main protagonist and in his youth actually bares a striking resemblance to the figure in this painting. I was looking a lot at these sort of mugshots you find in barber shops, I liked that you are given a menu of style to choose from, they become basically a template for "who do you want to be today", a bit of depressing thing in the age where everyone is so focused on individuality, yet all begin to look the same. (cough, hipster beards). This is the last in the brief series of barber shop works of which there are only 6. One last side note, the fluorescent lights in the background glow in the dark if you haven't noticed yet…