Andrea Horan: Why are flags on fingernails less valid than those in windows?

The other week, one of our clients in Tropical Popical (who happens to be a TD) was assigned the moniker Nailson Mandela for daring to use their nails as a platform to protest against the genocide that Israel continues to ravage upon Gaza.
Whilst the label is a genius sardonic victory for sure, the underlying snideness behind it is clearly rooted in a misogyny that dismisses any female-led form of art or protest as frivolous, inferior and even distasteful.
Sinead Gibney is currently a Social Democrats TD and was previously the Chief Commissioner and the inaugural Director of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. Nobody could argue that she isn't extremely well versed and capable of utilising her channels to speak about the injustices that are taking place in the world.
So why then would her statement of solidarity and support for Palestine be reduced to a cheap blow simply because one of the ways she communicates it is in the form of nail art?
Repeal nails. Picture: Andrea Horan
Nails are often used as a form of protest; for making political statements and as a platform to communicate social issues. We've had HIV activists sitting in our chairs getting the U=U message on their nails; Pride nails; anti-war nails; Repeal nails; trans rights nails and many supporting Palestine.
Yet once again, when something is a female-led art form it is mocked and derided. Badges, flags, murals - all ok. Nails? Frivolous and distasteful.
Nail art and manicures have emerged as a powerful form of silent protest and expression, particularly in times of conflict or social unrest. Individuals use nail polish and designs to convey messages, express solidarity, and uplift their spirits amidst difficult circumstances.
This trend is evident in Kim Barker's recent New York Times feature story from Ukraine, where manicures have become both an act of defiance and a way for women to maintain a sense of normalcy and resilience during the war.
During the Repeal campaign, the Guardian reported: "Nail bars may not be considered a hub of political activism but at Tropical Popical in Dublin, a wave of socially conscious beauty is spreading. One minute we're talking about pink glitter, the next we're discussing women's reproductive rights.'
Repeal nails. Picture: Andrea Horan
Like any political symbolism, nails provide a jumping off point to open conversations and build community around complex concepts that may feel too big to approach without a supportive prompt.
The whole reason the Hunreal Issues - a campaign that aimed to make political issues relatable and accessible to a broader audience, particularly women, by removing elitism and snobbiness - was set up was to bring the message of Repeal to young women in spaces where they were naturally and authentically comfortable - the worlds of fashion, beauty, pop culture and music.
Precisely because for so long these spaces were seen as frivolous, this cohort of women were being left out of the conversations that concerned them. You have to meet people where they are without patronising those interests. And it's rare that men's interests face the same ire.
Art has always been used as protest. When you try and separate art out into its different 'credible' forms and exclude some formats like nail art, we are led back to the age old question 'what is art?' and who gets to decide that anyway.
For centuries, traditionally female forms of art like weaving, embroidery, pottery, etc have been deemed simply 'craft' and not lofty enough to be included in galleries or to just be considered art.
This proposition formed a lot of the work we did for an exhibition in the National Gallery of Ireland when we explored how, traditionally, female art formats were deemed less artistically valid and yes, frivolous.
Andrea Horan: 'Art has always been used as protest. When you try and separate art out into its different 'credible' forms and exclude some formats like nail art, we are led back to the age old question 'what is art?' and who gets to decide that anyway.'
An opinion piece in this very publication mocked the use of nail art in the gallery to explore and highlight cultural phenomena such as the rich landscape of Irish fashion designers we have like Simone Rocha, Colin Horgan and Richard Malone; Thérèse Rafter's fine art photography and Jill & Gill's screen printing and wearable art as well as a mini Caravaggio recreation on the smallest canvas - a nail! - by saying that its inclusion opened the doors to ideas like 'Love Island in the Louvre'.
Groups like Guerilla Girls, an anonymous New York-based group of feminist, female artists devoted to fighting sexism and racism within the art world and beyond have been protesting and using guerilla exhibiting tactics to highlight the lack of representation of female artists in museums and galleries around the world with popular works including 'Do women have to be naked to get into the Met Museum, 1989.'
Unfortunately, until attitudes change and the snideness towards female art forms and interests is gone, they won't be quitting their endeavours anytime soon.
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