Amrita Chandradas
All Is Not Lost

Is it her features? The way she talks, behaves or moves? Or is it the way her hair blows in the wind is what contributes to her femininity? Hair – We find it everywhere! It permeates our consciousness from the books we read, the media we engage in and the list goes on. What if that hair which defines so much of your self-image is taken away from you without warning?

I met a beautiful girl named Chan See Ting in 2016, not long after she bravely announced her rare hair loss condition called Alopecia Areata. The condition has resulted in her losing most of her hair, which she told me was once one of her best features. Though not fatal, the condition is known to have psychological impacts which affect a person’s outlook - especially when it is believed that one’s hair ties in closely with one’s femininity and identity.

With All is not Lost, the vibrant, young and vivacious See Ting is pictured through her world of dreams, hopes and nightmares - confronting expectations and changing the colours of her world as she navigates through this new uncertainty in life.