Kudu-geweih aus fingernägeln. 2€-Stück dient als referenzgröße
2026
Wall installation
Dimensions: L 14 x W 3 x H 15 cm
Materials: human fingernails, stained wood, sterling silver, €2 coin, UV adhesive
The work presents a set of antlers modeled after the spiraled horn of the kudu antelope, constructed from collected, cut human fingernails. It is complemented by a 2-euro coin framed in a bezel.
Both fingernails and kudu horns are made of keratin, yet we assign them very different values: one is considered waste, the other a desirable hunting trophy. But when considering the living beings behind these materials, the logic is reversed: humans are placed above the life of the antelope, which becomes subordinated to the trophy. Paradoxically, some former big-game hunters founded national parks to protect wildlife – less out of moral conviction than because safari tourism became more profitable than hunting. The living space of local populations remains unconsidered in this process.
The coin not only refers to the practice of using coins as scale references for objects, but also to economic interests. Through its framing, however, it simultaneously evokes commemorative plates as wall-mounted decoration. Together with the trophy shield, it recalls associations with traditional, old-fashioned, male-dominated interiors.
