SOLD

A conceptual shoe becomes a sculptural composition, inspired by the repetitive and labour intensive processes witnessed in shoe making factories and own family history of heel covering. The shoe sculpture is made from solid leather using layer upon layer of soling leather, the inner negative space milled out with CNC machines to create a sense for the foot of being ‘embedded’, the shoes slotting perfectly into a surrounding space representational of the ground/earth lives ingrained deeply into both the product made and its history. The piece is symbolic of the hearts and souls of those who devoted their lives to the footwear trade and who have left a lasting impression on Northamptonshire’s rich boot and shoe history. The conceptual shoes embraces technology associated with product design using 3D scanning, CAD, water jet cutting and CNC to create a completely new footwear aesthetic and an alternative approach to traditional shoe building techniques. Research has been drawn from a number of sources including days spent at 'Edward Green' Northamptonshire factory; creators of the finest handcrafted shoes in England since 1890.
Project commissioned and supported by Arts Council England, Northamptonshire council and Northampton Boot and Shoe Museum