In Nailshop, nails become a lens through which to examine the intersection of evolution and culture, primal instinct and social ritual. The series explores these keratin fragments across their full spectrum — from pristine to fungal, utilitarian to decorative — revealing how they function as both biological inheritance and cultural symbols.

As evolutionary artifacts, nails connect us to our clawed ancestors, carrying vestigial memories of climbing, hunting, and defense. Yet in human culture, they have acquired complex symbolic weight. Healthy nails signal vitality. Fungal or brittle ones imply illness or neglect. Through decoration, they become sites of identity and power. Because every image is made in public, Nailshop also asks where grooming belongs, and who gets to witness it. These gestures, filed and painted on sidewalks, turn private maintenance into public ritual, collapsing the boundary between self-care and performance.

This collection examines both deliberate nail expressions and unintentional revelations in urban space. From meticulous manicures to yellowing infections, each nail tells multiple stories — of evolution and adaptation, of beauty and decay, of nature’s persistence and human intervention. Through these collected manifestations, Nailshop reveals how these seemingly mundane appendages continue to shape our understanding of identity, health, and the tenuous boundaries between the primal and the cultivated.