nagelhaut (masks) 01-03
 
2025, artificial fingernails, glitter stones
225 x 155 x 100 mm
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nagelhaut (masks) consists of three masks composed of hundreds of artificial fingernails. Layered into a rigid, scale-like surface, the nails accumulate into a dense skin through obsessive repetition. Each finegrnail is applied individually, building into a protective armor. Glitter stones occupy the position of the eyes, breaking the surface where there is normally to find the gaze.

The title nagelhaut refers to the cuticle, that thin protective layer of skin which exists to protect the still growing, not yet hardened part of the nail. It is a boundary continuously worked on - pushed back, trimmed, regulated - especially for and when wearing artificial nails. This tension is inscribed into the masks: their surface can be read simultaneously as protection and as regulation, as care and as control.

Exhibition views 2025 MMCA Residency Goyang Open Studio 21. MMCA Residency Goyang (KR)
Photos: Hong Cheolki, Courtesy of National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea