Nail Roader

Nail Roader emerged from my fascination with blurring the boundaries between fiction and reality by creating a hybrid genre that merges documentary elements with dramatized components, exploring what might occur if a real graffiti artist were interviewed yet transformed into a fictional character. I was inspired by observing how actual graffiti artists often conceal their identities by covering their faces and filtering their voices to avoid legal risks, and I invited my interviewee to use the metaphor of painting his nails to represent the act of graffiti. This nail motif served as a fictional element within the docufiction, forming part of a broader investigation into challenging gender norms and questioning the rigid definitions of masculinity and femininity, while also reflecting on how imposed boundaries simplify complex identities and create exclusion. Additionally, the work intentionally straddles multiple media—graffiti, documentary, and performance—and employs a sense of discomfort and distancing, invoking Bertolt Brecht’s Verfremdungseffekt through its sound design and the interplay of abstract colors and shapes, all designed to prompt critical reflection on the societal issues it raises.