There’s something more than a little disturbing about art that makes use of human hair. Maybe it’s the fact that hair is a by-product of human existence that has an uncanny way of outlasting us. Or maybe it’s that finding a hair elsewhere than on someone’s head gives us the shivers. Or is it because hair has been a favorite keepsake of obsessive beloveds and creepy stalkers throughout history? Whatever the case, local artist Jennifer Gardner incorporates hair in braids and clumps and tangles into each of her altarlike boxes, reliquaries, and little installations that recall the quirky-odd boxes of Joseph Cornell. But Gardner’s stuff (including Vernal, shown) is more lush in a boudoir sort of way, and slightly more morbid. Reception: 5-7 p.m. Fri. Nov. 5. Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave., 206-322-7030. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Fri., noon-5 p.m. Sat.