Council started working with nail extensions in 2008. “I was doing this Blaxidermy project, for which I was researching and collecting different beauty supplies, especially Black beauty supplies, and that included nails,” she recalls. During a work trip to Vietnam, she came across countless styles and shapes, so she packed as many as her suitcase would allow: “Once I had them all around me, there was nothing to do but make art out of them.
Before dedicating herself fully to art nearly two decades ago, Council worked in fashion—as a product developer, first at Adidas, then later at Reebok—and much of her practice draws from the idea of mass production and the “who gets to wear what and why” that threads across both the fashion and beauty industries. It quickly became clear that nails was the perfect medium to communicate those themes. “Everyone has a nail story.
She’s also acutely aware of the opportunity she has to further the perception of nail art as fine art through her installations. “Seeing nails in art can trigger some memory for [people], but also make them feel like they have a place in contemporary art,” explains Council. Extensions painstakingly painted by hand and layered with ornate 3-D decals can require the same level of expertise and artistic discretion that is expected of acrylic-based portraits on display in a gallery.
demonstrates how the seemingly mundane suddenly becomes mesmerizing, as Wagner’s long nails quickly take on a life of their own.Photo: Michael Hull/ Courtesy of Times Square ArtsWhile the glossy shell leaves Times Square December 8, Council is currently in the process of building out a digital space to continue the dialogue it has inspired. “I’m hosting conversations and interviewing people who work with different types of survivors, so that’s really exciting for me,” she notes.
Below, Council turns her attention to her own nails, sharing why an extra-long talon is her favorite shape in the world and the reason she matches her mani to her art—but not her toes.A lifestyle, baby. I get my nails done usually every two and a half to three weeks. But if I’m deep in a project, I might forget. Also I’m a sculptor and work with my hands a lot, so sometimes I go for a longer stretch without one because I need my hands to be in stuff.
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