Chiharu Roach is known for her “Tangled Hair” portraits of female figures with animals and insects interwoven throughout their hair. Each strand of hair is intricately painted using short brushstrokes. Her use of animals is a metaphor for the spiritual connection between humans and their behaviors and emotions. Each strand of hair serves as a “prayer” for those that acquire the work, and a special friend who is no longer with her. Roach was born and raised in Nagoya, Japan, and moved to Birmingham, Alabama, in 2000 where she received an art degree at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.