The DKUK salon by Sam Jacob Studio. Photograph by Jim Stephenson. Image courtesy of Sam Jacob Studio

London hair salon swaps mirrors for art

Sam Jacob Studio takes the customers’ minds off the cut and into artistic contemplation

Recent research suggests that viewing a single work of art for around 20 minutes can bring about the kind of beneficial health effects more commonly associated with deep meditation. And now a new hair salon in London is encouraging its customers to do just that, by hanging paintings instead of mirrors directly in front of its chairs.

 

The DKUK salon by Sam Jacob Studio. Photograph by Jim Stephenson. Image courtesy of Sam Jacob Studio
The DKUK salon by Sam Jacob Studio. Photograph by Jim Stephenson. Image courtesy of Sam Jacob Studio

The DKUK salon and gallery was established by the artist and hairdresser Daniel Kelly, and has just been refurbished by the London architecture practice Sam Jacob Studio. Its new look premises, inside Peckham’s Holdrons Arcade, make the most of this two-metres-by-five-metres space. Simple shopfitting materials, such as wall slat walling, give the salon a remarkably minimal look. Sam Jacob has included reflective surfaces in the salon, so patrons can still see what their new cut looks like. However, by removing them from customers' immediate sight lines, DKUK allows its patrons to focus on the works hung in front of the chairs.

DKUK is also a low-cost way to display new artworks. Jacob, who was one of the founders of the FAT Architecture practice, says the new space, which attracts both a loyal customer base and Arts Council funding, “offers artists a unique environment for showing and developing work, away from the pressure of the commercial art world and the growing complexities of the ‘publicly’ funded spaces.” It looks like a pretty good place to get a haircut too.

 

 

The DKUK salon by Sam Jacob Studio. Photograph by Jim Stephenson. Image courtesy of Sam Jacob Studio
The DKUK salon by Sam Jacob Studio. Photograph by Jim Stephenson. Image courtesy of Sam Jacob Studio

For more on the benefits art can offer get Art as Therapy; for more on the business of the art world get Management of Art Galleries; and for tonsorial inspiration, get The Barber Book.