As part of Ogden's Museum of Southern Art's
FOCUS series, which highlights rising local artists, ceramic artist Christian
Dinh's work Nail Salon is receiving a
special spotlight. Dinh, a first generation Asian American currently pursuing a
M.F.A at Tulane, is presenting Nail Salon with the intention of
highlighting racism, stereotypes, and underrepresentation in the Asian American
community and to honor Vietnamese American identity.
Nail
Salon is currently on display at the museum, which is located on 925 Camp
St., will stay there through January 16, 2022. Ogden Museum will feature 11
works from Nail Salon, which focuses on the Vietnamese culture that grew
in the United States following the Vietnam War and the community formed by
refugees and immigrants. Through his work, Dinh highlights the experiences,
items, places, and values of the Vietnamese- American culture and the success of
the Vietnamese nail salon industry.
Several of these works are decorated, porcelain
hands used in nail salons, which often carry the stigma of low-class, minority
work. Because many employees in the nail industry are often immigrants who
speak very little to no English, these porcelain hands act as "translators"
between the employee and customer for the communication of services. Dinh's
sculptures also depict the Vietnamese American cultural importance given to
Catholicism, the Vietnamese New Year, and the family household. He specifically
decorates the sculptures to represent their strong traditions, family values,
and hard work. Dinh's hands emphasize the very cultural ideals that often bring
the Vietnamese culture together in a country where they are the minority.
Despite the unfavorable stereotype of nail
salons, Dinh believes "the Vietnamese nail salon to be one of the great success
stories of the Vietnamese American community." Bradley Sumrall, Ogden's curator
describes Dinh's work as a combination of "high art and low art, tradition and
kitsch."
For more information, visit ogdenmuseum.org.
