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Story: Japanese

Self-portrait in nails

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Self-portrait in nails

Japanese artist Ryuzo Nishida came to New Zealand in 1997, attracted by reports of the opening of Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand. He has produced artworks as varied as sculptures, portraits made of chocolate, and videos influenced by Japanese popular culture. This self-portrait, made with painted nails hammered into a computer-enhanced photograph, was awarded first prize from 138 works selected for the 2004 Adam Portraiture Award.

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New Zealand Herald

Reference: 4 August 2004

by Carolyn Elliott

Permission of the New Zealand Herald must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Tessa Copland, Japanese – Community and culture, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/1226/self-portrait-in-nails (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Tessa Copland, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 August 2024.