We are living in an era when people are seeking sanctuary away from the exhaustion and chaos of global reality.

My project ‘Black Nails’ delves into the relationship between inner habitability and the outside world. In 2018, I was filming with French lacquer artist Vincent Cazeneuve, who left urban life in France to immerse in the lacquer world of China since 2009. Vincent met lacquer tree master Yang who remained, while many had left to work in cities. Their bond transcended language barriers, rooted in a shared kinaesthetic awareness and respect for each other’s crafts. The two men developed immunity to the lacquer’s toxicity, like they’d passed an initiation with the lacquer trees over many years. 

In both reality and film, I struggled to find my footing in the lacquer tree forest, representing the dissonance between inner and outer worlds. One person’s sanctuary is another’s deep end. My intellectual mind questioned Vincent’s practice: ‘Why are you here, doing what you’re doing?’. His response, ‘What else can I do?’ was provocative, reflecting a profound acceptance of his own path—one forged from instinct rather than desperation.

Black Nails serves as a reminder that true sanctuary needs inner openness, trust, patience and humour to embody and begins with being more habitable within ourselves.