Human Ivory

Rachel Betty Case

As a gatherer, I find myself collecting unusual objects.  I have accumulated dozens of collections throughout my life.  In 2003, I began saving fingernail and toenail clippings.   I did this with little to no intent.  My collection and donors grew with word-of-mouth. 

It wasn’t until I visited Gunther von Hagens’ Body World exhibition that I recognized fingernails and toenails as part of our skeletal structure and are directly connected to the distal phalanges (fingertip bones) in our hands.  Amazingly, they pierce through our skin and reside on the outside of our bodies.

In the fall of 2007 I poured out three glass jars of clippings which made up my collection.  On the desk was a small mountain made of thousands of clippings.  Some were large, some small, long, short, thick, thin, tough, frail, dirty, clean, pointed, dull, smooth, ridged, and many painted.  The characteristics of the clippings were descriptive of the owner.  And the nature of the nail (size, shape and curvature) lent itself to what became the construction of small skeletal structures, hence the term human ivory.

These pieces were assembled using nail clippings and SuperJet gel.  No piece measure taller than 2”.  The pieces were made to be remarkably small.