Saturday 8 December 2012

Isabella Leonard

Unwanted souls

I am exploring the connotations of old, worn shoes as a medium.  By freshly embroidering dirty soles and broken uppers, their form and function is reinvented as they hide and display strange characters from differing cultures.  Traditional, cheeky garden gnomes and the Mexican dancing creatures evoke playful spirits.  Both have illustrative charm, form and vibrant colour but sometimes sinister connotations.  Garden gnomes can be left to rot outside.  Mexican ceremonies celebrating spirits inspire thoughts of pagan or voodoo ritual.  The shoe itself has travelled and the unknown wearer’s presence is evident. 
The slow process of hand stitch with worn shoes references time passing and waste from popular culture.  A rotting relic is created.  Taking motifs from very different cultures and combining them with a repelling material, the longevity of handcraft is reconsidered as designs are re sewn again today.





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