Non-certified Copies (2022-ongoing)
Non-certified Copies (2022-ongoing) consists of extreme close-ups of acrylic nails produced in salons in Vietnam and, more recently, in Vietnamese-owned salons in Berlin. Meticulously handcrafted by female nail technicians, each set can take hours to complete yet lasts only a fortnight before being drilled away. By adopting a typological approach, I aim to capture contemporary nail designs in detail and test whether photography can magnify and transform these intricate but ephemeral objects.
Though each nail is tailor-made and technically considered unique, many draw from nature or its representations. Metallic chrome and marble patterns emulate geological formations, while glittering foils and iridescent mother-of-pearl evoke oceans, auroras, or cosmic dust. Loose brushwork and pastel tones sometimes give the nails the appearance of impressionistic landscape paintings, betrayed only by the inevitable air bubbles trapped beneath the glossy topcoat made visible under a macro lens.
At the same time, these designs are part of a constantly circulating visual economy. As Vietnamese salons quickly absorb manicure trends from countries regarded as fashion pioneers in Asia, what appears as a singular object is often already a reiteration of motifs encountered elsewhere, reproduced through reference images taken from social media.
Initially conceived during the pandemic when press-on nail services emerged to meet beauty demands under lockdown, the work has since addressed broader themes of originality and authorship, transnational design, and gendered labor.
Though each nail is tailor-made and technically considered unique, many draw from nature or its representations. Metallic chrome and marble patterns emulate geological formations, while glittering foils and iridescent mother-of-pearl evoke oceans, auroras, or cosmic dust. Loose brushwork and pastel tones sometimes give the nails the appearance of impressionistic landscape paintings, betrayed only by the inevitable air bubbles trapped beneath the glossy topcoat made visible under a macro lens.
At the same time, these designs are part of a constantly circulating visual economy. As Vietnamese salons quickly absorb manicure trends from countries regarded as fashion pioneers in Asia, what appears as a singular object is often already a reiteration of motifs encountered elsewhere, reproduced through reference images taken from social media.
Initially conceived during the pandemic when press-on nail services emerged to meet beauty demands under lockdown, the work has since addressed broader themes of originality and authorship, transnational design, and gendered labor.