Ginger Ailing

The San Antonio Museum of Art recently launched an exhibit for the Dalai Lama Foundation called “The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama.” One of the contributing artists has caught my eye.

Spanish artist Salustiano has depicted the Dalai Lama as a Chinese girl with red hair in a piece he’s titled “Reincarnation.”

Reincarnation" by artist Salustiano as shown at the SAN ANTONIO MUSEUM OF ART.

Just last week, the Tibetan spiritual leader announced he would give up his political role in Tibet’s government in order to make way for a new, elected leader. News of the announcement along with a photo of the Dalai Lama surrounded by a group of young monks circulated the globe. As one journalist put it, the Dalai Lama is often captured on camera as standing “illuminated by the suggestion of a smile.”

When I look at Salustiano’s Dalai Lama, I see a young girl with red hair who appears awake, hesitant, and a moment away from the suggestion of a smile. It’s an interesting interpretation; given the role redheads play in Asian culture, in general. Red hair is a sure sign that you’re a foreigner or an outsider. There is even a specific expression for “red haired people” in Singapore and throughout Malaysia: ang mo lang which is very close to ang mo kui or “red-haired devil.”

The only thing that’s devilish about the Dalai Lama, of course, is his wicked sense of humour. At least, that’s what I’ve heard.

Two Canadian filmmakers are currently producing a documentary on “redheads” and they’re hosting a summit in downtown Toronto to collect as many stories as they can, firsthand, from redheads themselves. The summit is today, August 22nd at 1 PM at Trinity-Bellwoods Park.

Both of the filmmakers are redheaded men, which should provide an interesting lens in which to present the “ginger experience.” After all, red hair means different things to men as it does to women.

The Toronto Redhead Summit itself has received some attention from the press (that’s how I heard about it) but they’ve also set up a Facebook page for supporters. As far as I know, it’s the first of its kind in Canada. I only know of one other country that publicly celebrates our hair colour. In the Netherlands, Red Head Day is celebrated over the course of a two-day festival. I can just picture it; redheads as far as the eye can see, swapping stories, ancestry and SPF preferences.

There isn’t a ton of information out there right now on the status of the documentary. So I think I’ll write the filmmakers myself and ask them what their premier deadline looks like. I doubt Ginger Ailing will have any scruples promoting their documentary.