Eggshells inspire World Cup art in Vietnam
Retired teacher Nguyen Thanh Tam, 67, spends hours every day making models, driven by his passion for football
Football scarves, shirts and ... eggshell art? World Cup swag has taken a quirky turn in Vietnam where a retired schoolteacher is making mascot memorabilia from hollowed-out eggs, meticulously crafted by hand.
Nguyen Thanh Tam, 67, spends hours every day making the models, driven by his football fanaticism — a passion shared by millions across Vietnam glued to the World Cup.
Most of his tiny statues are of tournament mascot Zabivaka, a wolf in sports goggles kicking a football, and he has models of football heroes Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the works.
Using eggshells in art is not unheard of: traditional lacquer works often feature inlaid eggshell in lieu of white paint.
Tam says working with the fragile shells requires sharp focus. “I love this work because it requires me to be creative, observant, meticulous and relaxed,” Tam said.
He first developed the unique hobby around Christmas in 2002, when he was looking for the right material to make a Santa statue with his 13-yearold students. Tam decided that an eggshell perfectly captured Santa’s rotund belly.
He eventually started making World Cup mascots during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Now he has about 1,000 of the small figurines scattered throughout his apartment, some commemorating the 2016 Rio Olympics and Euro 2016 in France.
Tam doesn’t sell the delicate dolls, preferring instead to keep them on display to wow his visitors.