Melting POINT

Vanities/Beauty

Sojin Oh is an uncanny interpreter of extremities. For the Los Angelesbased nail artist, inspiration comes from bacteria strains, sea creatures, and Rene Redzepi's fungi haul. Lil Nas X recently glimmered in Oh's beaded chrome nails; Hunter Schafer wore a crystalline set to the Met gala. "The sublime beauty of the natural world influences me to be adventurous," says the scubacertified Korean native. But there's a portentous undercurrent in these fire-and-ice nails, shaded by the realities of living in a state routinely ablaze. Oh cites lava as a muse because it's "seen as destructive and violent, but it is also creating and generating new life." Even as Oh dreams of designing nails for a sci-fi film someday, she hopes her work— embellished with water droplets or gecko spots—inspires solidarity with Mother Earth. —Laura Regensdorf

Laura Regensdorf

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