X:01.A (Lil Tuff Chunk)

‘Lil Tuff Chunk’ is a concept object and the first piece in the Factory Nail Salon series. Its conception and fabrication influenced all other designs in this series. It features a semi-transparent 1.5” thick Acrylic top which was found on the street in East Los Angeles.

Series: Factory Nail Salon

Series Information:

The designs and concepts in the ‘Factory Nail Salon’ series are inspired by and directly related to my original “Lil Tuff Chunk” (2022) object. This object and the others in this series are the beginning of my ongoing exploration into the aesthetic and cultural roots of my blue-collar familial upbringing. 

To be more specific - My father worked as a mechanic at the Ford River Rouge Factory Complex in Detroit Michigan for over 30 years, while my Mother worked as a manicurist in our small basement DIY nail salon. These object concepts are exploring the aesthetic and metaphorical links between those two worlds. In one sense, the worlds could not be farther apart from each other. While in another, they share not only unintentional utilitarian beauty via industrial and pragmatically minded creations, but also socioeconomic similarities surrounding the reality of middle-class financial income obligations.