SEPTEMBER 07, 2017

OUROBOROS: ALTAR X FINGERBANG

You know what really expresses adornment? Independently, expertly, handcrafted jewelry, and cutting edge nail technology and art. In case you somehow haven’t heard of Fingerbang, this nail salon is an alternative, revolutionary group of artists and friends that produce outside the box manicures, pedicures and other various treatments. Their gels and polishes are absolutely striking and the innovative designs from their nail techs have garnered national attention in recent weeks including articles on Buzzfeed, Teen Vogue, Huffington Post, AND EVEN GEORGE TAKEI POSTED ABOUT THEM... (so we kind of have to assume you’ve heard of Fingerbang, right?).

In celebration of Fingerbang’s GRAND OPENING of their SECOND location on SE Division St, Altar has collaborated with these creative minds to produce one our most beautifully awe-inspiring lookbooks: OUROBOROS!

The fusing of nail artistry and handcrafted metalsmithing is an equation that leads to self-expressive luxury, the beauty of the hand is wonderfully captured in these photographs. These pictures were created in the moment, as a means to portray all artists’ impulsive creativity, and organic progression towards a fully satisfied product. In the words of French novelist Antoine de Saint-Exupery, “A designer knows [they] have achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” When I look at these pictures, I see perfection in the details. Acrylic nails are having a moment in fashion and beauty industries, a collaboration between Altar and Fingerbang was an inevitable phenomenon.

The pictures themselves portray thematic elements of talismans, alternative power, and the dark, dreamy symbolism of florals, snakes, and metals to conjure a sense of beauty, portraiture, mood, and naturalism. Featured collections include Altar Houseline, Iron Oxide, Morgaine Faye, Theeth, While Odin Sleeps, Arcana Obscura, Therese Kuempel and other beautiful independent lines.

I really love these pictures and their emphasis on soft portraiture and grace. These pictures almost challenge preconceived notions, and show the audience the fundamental beauty of the art itself: the beauty of the snake, the beauty of various crystals, the beauty of the skulls and mycelium that evoke notions of death and decay, and most of all, the beauty of the feminine expression.

Ouroboros: a circular symbol of a snake or dragon devouring its tail, as an emblem of wholeness or infinity. A symbol most noticeable in alchemy, this symbol represents introspection, the eternal return, renewal and re-creation. It is nature’s endless, infinite cycle of creation and destruction, of life and death. This lookbook is a fusion of two forms of beauty and art that supply amazing imagery of femininity, nail art, handcrafted jewelry, and fashion. They bring light to the dark, of what some consider terrifying: a mysterious vision of florals, snakes, the esoteric, and accessories that call these things into reality.

But vision isn’t something that your eyes see: it’s an image that your brain comprehends. I hope you enjoy this new lookbook and the creative works between Altar and Fingerbang.

View the entirety of the lookbook here.

WRITTEN BY JARED CHUNG