{"id":150907,"date":"2026-03-28T13:29:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T13:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/150907\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T13:29:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T13:29:24","slug":"philly-based-artist-wants-your-toenails-to-make-a-replica-fifa-world-cup-trophy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/150907\/","title":{"rendered":"Philly-based artist wants your toenails to make a replica FIFA World Cup trophy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love Philly? So do we. Let\u2019s be friends.\u00a0Sign up for the Billy Penn newsletter today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Philly-based artist and mental health advocate Clancy Philbrick wants to make a replica of the FIFA World Cup<\/a> trophy \u2026 using fingernails and toenails.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s pause for a moment to let everyone\u2019s stomachs get back into the right shape.<\/p>\n

Philbrick wants to make a full-scale replica of the real 18 karat solid gold and green malachite trophy using his toe and fingernail clippings.<\/p>\n

And yours, if you\u2019re willing to provide them.<\/p>\n

Philbrick is welcoming submissions from all over the world and has provided an address for where to send them in his announcement on Instagram<\/a> and the project brief.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOur nails will form a collective body of work, a ledger of labor and lives lived,\u201d he said in his announcement video.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So far, Philbrick estimates he has between 6,000 and 8,000 nails collected, which he said is about half of what he needs. It helps that he\u2019s been saving his own nail clippings for almost 10 years \u2014 eight years were for this project. Based on final amount estimates, Philbrick said the piece will most likely be an \u201cexoskeleton\u201d of nails, rather than completely filled with the clippings.<\/p>\n

Nails have already been sent in from around the city and the country, and from as far away as Canada, Ecuador and Nicaragua.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

He says the feedback he\u2019s received so far has included being grossed out, paranoia about sharing DNA, people feeling self-conscious that their nails might be too disgusting to share and some admiration about what the project is really about.<\/p>\n

The project isn\u2019t just about making people retch involuntarily. Philbrick\u2019s goal is to \u201cinvite reflection on what binds us: labor, play, struggle and what might be built from what we leave behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"A collection of the nail clippings that Philadelphia-based artist Clancy Philbrick has collected to create a replica of the FIFA men\u2019s World Cup trophy. (Courtesy of Philbrick)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019m thinking about is like soccer\/football as a representation for colonialism that follows the same sort of empire trade routes. And then nails as these ledgers of human labor, of human bodies, they all have their own stories. And they are very tactile, they\u2019re what they\u2019re what\u2019s left behind,\u201d Philbrick explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo drawing parallels between that and in conversations around global labor markets, the wealth divide, classism, making something that\u2019s more for the the people that put in the the labor that holds up everything else, whether it\u2019s the World Cup or, in more of a global way, with just the World Cup as a symbol.\u201d<\/p>\n

Philbrick\u2019s art often incorporates found objects and trash. He said his work \u201cinvestigates the transformative power of community, cultural dimensions of sports and play, and disassembling harmful patriarchal norms.\u201d His work also tries to offer new rituals and be part of the solution.<\/p>\n

\"\"Philly-based artist and mental health advocate Clancy Philbrick stands next to his piece \u201cIthzari: Ceremonial Mask\u201d at the Icebox Project Space. (Instagram\/clancy_pantz)<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, toenails and fingernails are not an art medium Philbrick is familiar with, so he\u2019s also experimenting with how to render it into an accurate depiction of the trophy. The closest thing he can compare it to is sea oats<\/a>, the seeds of a grass that cover sand dunes in the Southeast U.S., Caribbean and Mexico.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When not making art, Philbrick also organizes and moderates Sad Boy Fanatics Group, a peer support group for sports fans that helps them talk through the tough times<\/a>, as well as the jubilant ones<\/a>. After the Eagles\u2019 2023 Super Bowl loss, he contributed to Billy Penn\u2019s recovery guide with advice on how Bird\u2019s fans can pick themselves up after a sorrowful Super Bowl Sunday<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The current tournament trophy \u2014 with an estimated value in the tens of millions \u2014 has been awarded to the men\u2019s national team that wins the global competition since 1970.\u00a0 Brazil was permanently given its predecessor, the Jules Rimet Trophy, for their third World Cup victory in \u201870.<\/p>\n

The trophy is currently being toured around the three host nations for this summer\u2019s tournament: Canada, Mexico and the U.S. It\u2019s scheduled to be in Philly on May 21. Billy Penn\u2019s World Cup guide to the six games in Philly<\/a> offers a crash course in what teams and players you\u2019ll likely see this summer, how you can watch the games and which local soccer players could make the United States team for the competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To keep things sanitary, Philbrick has laid out rules for the for those willing to give him their keratin contributions:<\/p>\n

Clean your nails before you clip and send them. Make sure they\u2019re completely dry.<\/p>\n

Put the clippings in a sealed bag or envelope<\/p>\n

Include a note with your name, country, and whether or not you want your contributions to be credited or anonymous. You can also include a sentence in the note, if you\u2019d like.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Philbrick said he\u2019s still looking for ways and partners to present the trophy, once it\u2019s completed.<\/p>\n

For Philly locals who don\u2019t want to use up a stamp, or end up on some weird Postal Service watch list, Philbrick is hosting a gathering<\/a> at Rittenhouse Square on Saturday, April 11, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.<\/p>\n

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