Shower Ritual (2022), Interactive Installation
Acrylic, Resin, Hair
Beatrice Mai


Shower Ritual is an interactive jigsaw puzzle. Inspired by foggy mirrors and Beatrice’s lost hair after every hot shower, the installation borrows the form of monochrome puzzles.

As part of the production process, Beatrice started practicing the ritual of collecting her fallen hair after each shower. They were eventually incorporated into the puzzle with the usage of resin. When she was living in her childhood home, Beatrice learned that her mother always lost a significant amount of hair, reasons remaining unclear; her mother’s hair was found in the shared apartment bathroom, kitchen counters, and dark corners behind doors. With the overwhelming amount of anti-hair-loss products and advertisements on the market, the anxiety-driven Beatrice attempts to track down how much hair she would lose after each shower as if quantifying the result would prevent her from becoming her mother. Until one day, she finds it too hard to part ways with the hair that has left her scalp. They appear to be more than hair; rather, the fallen hair becomes a secret connection shared between Beatrice and her mother.

As an interactive installation, reflective puzzle surfaces could be moved around freely to capture any scene as the participant wishes. The lack of color, pattern, and texture discourages the participant from relying on visual clues, yet pushes the process of puzzle-solving to become one that manifests in self-reflection, grief, and curiosity

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