Barbarian Productions follow their 2014 work Political Cuts with Wellington hairdresser Jason Muir by working with barbers and their local communities in Porirua to explore issues of well-being. All Good? will be a pop-up salon, working with existing hairdressers to extend the reach of their businesses and offering free professional grooming services and ‘pampering’ in exchange for discussion.

This project investigates the intimacy of the act of cutting someone’s hair and the implicit role of the hairdresser as an unofficial counsellor, particularly about social issues or mental health. Barbarian want to explore this unsung frontline of communication across different cultures in New Zealand, something Porirua is placed beautifully for.

Barbarian will gather stories and documentation from local barbers and hairdressing businesses towards a larger-scale, nationwide investigation into these themes. They want to gently encourage members of the public to reflect on their own experiences and those of relatives and friends, to ask themselves the question “how are we doing? Are we all good?”