Art in Embassies Program, Brussels/NATO exhibit

A few weeks ago I found out that I was selected to be in The US State Department's Art in Embassies program. One of my pieces was selected to be in a show about "Plurality" in the Brussel's U.S. NATO embassy. It is a two year show and it will be my first work that will be included in a show catalog.

The piece selected for the exhibition is a sculptural shoe. I originally designed it as an entry in the Fuller Craft Museum show "a Perfect Fit". I intended to create a whole series of superwomen inspired shoes. As of yet, I have only completed this "Poison Ivy Pump". This piece is made of wire, Chinese crack seed wrappers, Japanese candy boxes, Russian chocolate wrappers, Japanese plastic sushi garnishes and pearls. It is coated in a two part epoxy glaze.
























Photo: Gerorge R. Young

Shoes are symbols of mobility and immobility depending on their functionality and design, and can be symbols of status and gender. Constructed of Asian food wrappers, my sculptural shoes reflect on the intersection of cultures through food and clothing. They also play with the class association of shoes, for while they appear to be the heels of high society, they are a collage of humble materials that would find reuse and utility in the plantation culture of Hawaii's past.