Sharon Lynn Thesali is Making Nails for the Year 3000

Meet Sharon Lynn Thesali, the nail artist making hands look like they belong in the year 3000. While the 25-year-old was previously known for cutesy, Japanese‑esque press‑ons, this product‑design‑trained artist has now evolved towards sculptural, futuristic nail art that doubles as wearable mini sculptures.

Case in point: her collaboration (pictured above) with Singapore makeup artist Carolyn Lee , or @carorolee on Instagram, for whom she created an other‑worldly nail set and a matching face piece using a resin printer. The biomorphic shape was inspired by columbine flowers and spider legs, and she hand‑painted the printed pieces with nail gel, effectively merging industrial design techniques with traditional nail artistry.

The result is so precise and glistening, artificial intelligence has nothing on it. Earlier projects in school have even seen her create laser‑cut acrylic nail pieces that light up – and she’s got even bigger ideas.

“I love the creative direction of every XG (Japanese girl group) music video or album launch … When I first saw the group members sporting sculptural nails in one of their music videos, it made me believe that there’s truly a place for nails in the industry.” Forget the clean girl aesthetic – Thesali is here to prove that nail art can be as imaginative, technical and rebellious as any other form of design. XG, call her already.

Here, she shares more on her craft:

Hi Sharon! Let’s rewind a bit — how did you first start getting into nail art?

“In primary school, my idol was the YouTuber, Cutepolish. I would find any opportunity to paint my nails — I’d paint them on Saturdays, remove them the next day, sometimes wear them to school, and always got in trouble. But my mum was always supportive of me. She tried her best to get me as many new nail polishes or gadgets as we could afford, regardless of how many teacher complaints I got. I am currently on a hiatus for a few months, but I intend to continue doing this full-time in the near future.”

You started making these surreal miniature sculptures that decorate your face and nails last year — what inspired those? How did you go about creating them?

“A few years back, I discovered a nail profile, @tomonyan55, and they were doing what I feel was the beginning of the rise of sculptural nail art today — shibari but on the hands, jump rings glued all around the nails, nose rings as nail art. It was so eye-opening to what nail art could possibly be.

At the time, he was a relatively small artist, not known to many. Being able to see his progression and breakthrough in the industry over the years has been incredibly inspirational to me. It makes me feel like I could get there too one day.

I have a background in product design, so that definitely helps a lot, having learnt skills such as design processes, CAD, 3D printing, laser cutting, prototyping, etc. My first sculptural work was for a school project, where I laser-cut large acrylic pieces for the nails that would light up. I guess my journey began from there.”

In your opinion, is it necessary to be formally trained in nail art?

“No, not at all. There is an endless supply of resources you can find on the internet. I would say learning it yourself is probably more turbulent and takes more time. There were numerous instances where I wished I had someone to ask or teach me what I was doing wrong, but with experience, you will eventually learn.

However, if you are offering a service, it is definitely important to understand well what you should and should not be doing. I suggest watching YouTubers such as Nail Career Education, Nailcou, Paola Ponce Nails, and The Nail Hub — they were my absolute foundations!”

How would you describe the current nail art scene in Singapore? What’s exciting you? What’s not?

“I think there’s been a boom in people doing nails now compared to when I started. It’s definitely become incredibly popular. Unfortunately, while I don’t find myself drawing inspiration from the nail art scene in Singapore today, I believe it is bound to grow and we will get there one day soon.

That said, nail art within the creative industry in Singapore is finally starting to take its place. There is a growing demand for it, albeit small, so I’m excited for more opportunities where nail artists will have a place to shine.”

What’s the future of nail art, in your opinion?

“I feel nail art is essentially about beauty and isn’t very functional, which is why it has always been special to me. It’s one of the few things you can really say you are doing purely for yourself. However, I can see it shifting and exploring more functional uses in the near future, especially with RFID nails (a type of wearable tech where a tiny Radio Frequency Identification chip is embedded into a nail extension or nail art piece to make contactless payment, for instance) in recent years. Definitely an exciting thought!”

If you weren’t doing nails, what creative thing do you think you’d be doing instead?

“Probably pursuing my product design career. An alternative path I’d considered was working with jewellery brands and learning more about jewellery design. I’d also love to dip my toes into furniture design in the future. I think I have enough years ahead of me to try a little bit of everything.”

What do you want people to take away from your work?

“I guess I want them to be in awe — excited, inspired. I mainly create in a way where I’m making something I’m proud of, something that makes me feel like I’ve improved, or maybe trying something new. And if I feel like I’ve achieved those things, I’m pretty sure it will reflect in what people see in my work as well.”

An adapted version of this article first appeared in Volume 7 of F ZINE.