XA Augmented Nail Salon
An Augmented Nail Salon, run as part of a 3 day workshop by Theatrum Mundi research fellow Michael Gozo.
XA Augmented Nail Salon is a project by Xcessive Aesthetics, an interdisciplinary, all-female design collective formed with 5 other RCA students in 2019.
XAMA, a live nail salon and augmented reality workshop, that was open to the public, was installed and ran by Xcessive Aesthetics as part of a 3 day workshop exploring the nature of the high street as a space for artistic and economic experimentation. The workshop was organised by Theatrum Mundi research fellow Michael Gozo.
The installation and nail salon was inspired by XA member Teresa Ribiero Boulting’s research into Brazilian beauty salons, a traditional hub for social interaction and information dissemination, as a parallel and autonomous alternative to the hegemony of existing social media platforms.
XA installed and ran a live performance of the nail salon, using augmented reality tools to expand the notion of information dissemination, using the salon as a space of social and technological experimentation, adding layers of video content and information to the space to spark conversations.
