Experimentation – Fake Nails

I have had a keen interest in found objects and how things can be repurposed and reimagined to create something entirely separate, and since my project is deeply autobiographical I wanted to use a material that I am surrounded by and helps to alleviate or exacerbate my depression. I have enjoyed nail art and fake nails over the past year in an almost obsessive manner, and as a result I have been left with plenty of multicoloured and multi textured fake nails that can’t be used. I believe my interest in changing my nails comes from a need to feel as though I look good, this helps my confidence and allows me to face the day – my aesthetic is like my armour. Another reason I felt this would be a good material to use was the nails themselves are full of colour and light, I have been conscious of creating a piece about mental health which is not black and instead as an element of positivity running through it.

To start I lined up the nails in size order to get an understanding of what I had to work with.

I was inspired by the nails when they stacked over each other they resembled hand armour, as well as this I found the movability despite the rigid material interesting, this applied to body adornment could be perused and investigated further.

I decided to create a mask and wanted to use the advantage of the nails curved form to follow the contour of the face, placing them where they would fit naturally – Over the brow bone, cheek bones and nose.

I found the effect of the layers successful as it resembles armour and so fulfils the intention of creating something protective. Although, I found that the placement didn’t represent mental health, it became purely decorative and lost it’s meaning. Therefore I returned back to the inspiration of hand armour and thought about how the relationship of our hands to our face often can show and mimic how we feel inside.

I then intended to construct a hand wholly out of the fake nails, using a glue gun to attach each nail. I found difficulty moulding the nails to the shape of my hand, partly due to the nails existing curved form and also due to the fact that I only had one hand free to attach the nails. After this, I decided to run to a local charity shop at lunch and buy a cheap, thin glove which I could use to hold the shape of the hand and back the nails onto. At this point I ran out of glue for my glue gun, so began using super glue which didn’t work because the glue would seep through the glove material and therefore wouldn’t hold the nail.

This experimentation was very much about overcoming technical difficulties but ensuring that I remained faithful to my intention and concept. It has allowed me to think more carefully about material choice. From this point I will get more glue for my glue gun and have another go at shaping the nails around the glove.