Ginger hair portraits show unexpected 'golden thread' connecting Americans
Photographer Kieran Dodds has expanded his long-term project documenting people with red hair to include American subjects. The project explores the diverse genetic and cultural backgrounds of ginger-haired individuals, including those from Native American tribes.
Why it matters
It highlights the intersection of photography, cultural identity, and the global distribution of specific genetic traits.
Image source, Kieran Dodds Image caption, Rosalie Moore is one of hundreds of ginger-haired subjects Kieran has photographed
For Kieran Dodds, photographing people with red hair has become something of an obsession over the past decade.
The 45-year-old, from Edinburgh, who is himself a "proud ginger", began taking pictures in his homeland in 2013 as part of a series examining Scottish identity.
His interest in the subject soon took him to other ginger hotspots such the Russian city of Perm and Jamaica's Treasure Beach.
His 2020 book Gingers spanned the world but after its release he notice there was a "huge gap".
"I realised I didn't have any American citizens," Kieran told the BBC.
Image source, Kieran Dodds Image caption, Kieran says he has become quite patriotic for America
"I was like 'oh wow, of course, the whole world is in the States'," Kieran says. "It's a microcosm."
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