An explosion of fluorescent pink, spiked hair balanced precariously on a young woman's head; eyes painted black like an Egyptian goddess; a slender neck encircled by a black leather dog collar with metal spikes; a torn T-shirt barely concealing her chest. It had the same startling effect on a family strolling down London's King's Road in 1977 as the sight of the Pawnee people had on explorers in 1541: something exotic and unfamiliar to behold. Wearing a punk hairstyle was a way of spitting in polite society's eye, rebelling and separating oneself from prevailing fashions. It was an emblem of nonconformity and a defiant haircut—until it wasn't.
 
Excerpt from "On Mohawks" by Ed Templeton.
 
From Disneyland to Detroit, Spokane to Scotland, Hairdos of Defiance highlights Templeton's encounters with punk rock's iconic plumage across two decades and two continents. Shot on film, these portraits trace this ubiquitous expression of individuality among friends and strangers.
 
In the accompanying essay, "On Mohawks", Templeton reflects on the hairstyle's evolution, from its origins in Indigenous culture to its emergence as a punk emblem and mainstream adoption, and on its significance in his own life as an outsider growing up in the suburbs.
 
This hardcover book features 62 photographs and was printed in an edition of 1,500 copies. It serves as the catalogue for Templeton's exhibition of the same name at Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, 17 March–21 April 2018.