These Shoes are NOT for Humans (Shoes: Pleasure and Pain exhibition review)
15 Oct 2018 | Ashley
Shoes, shoes, shoes! Everybody loves shoes! Shoes are no longer commodities, but collectibles for some. They also preserve an important role throughout history in relations to power, status and seduction. Do not forget the fairytales with which we are all familiar where shoes play an essential role as well. For example, Cinderella and her glass slippers!
Situated at Pacific Place, Shoes: Pleasure and Pain is an ongoing exhibition from 28 Sept to 28 Oct, 2018. It is curated by Helen Persson and organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, brought to us in Hong Kong for an inspirational journey where viewers are invited to ponder the meanings behind this collection of shoes from around the world.
Entering the dim exhibition area, I was immediately enticed by this breathtaking crystal shoe. It reflected in all directions colourful rays of light. It did not only stand out as a piece of artwork, but as a common reminder of childhood when the tale of Cinderella was told over and over until this very day. A child at the exhibition exclaimed in front of this shoe, telling her parents how she thought the shoe was made of plastic to resemble glass. Her parents, reinstalling in her the naivety of childhood, reassured her that the shoe was indeed made of crystal. What I find interesting in this interaction is the common fantasy of the magical and grand. A shoe is not only a symbol of that fantasy but a way of communication across generation where reinforcement of that symbol is needed, in a way to bring comfort to everyone.
If you are into Chinese history, you might have heard of foot-binding from the Song Dynasty until the early 20th Century. Foot-binding is where women's four digits were folded under and onto the back of the foot. This applied only to women from rich families, since evidently, this sort of binding would produce a mincing gait effect, which naturally implied the need for assistance from a servant in walking. Here in this exhibition, you would be able to see the horrendous shoes for bound feet. Most viewers gasped in disbelief, asking their viewing partners repeatedly if what they saw were really for human beings. Indeed, women have always been required to adopt a certain dainty manner which might in turns inflict pain on them. The modern day binding might be heels, in which women struggle to walk properly and painlessly unless with practice.
Besides questioning the feminine standard of an ideal seductive woman, ideal masculinity is also an important aspect to consider. In current society, I have the impression that gender binary seems to be more rigid than during the era of stars like David Bowie, Elton John, and Hong Kong stars like Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung, when high-heeled boots were an indication for hyper masculinity. This pair of boots was obviously lavishly designed with leather, which most people usually associate with seduction, and glass beads at the platform and heel. For most people, when they imagine the wearer of these shoes, women would probably pop up the quickest, but surprisingly, they were in fact given by Elton John, in other words, worn by him. It is interesting to see that heels and fancy, colourful beads did not limit to the stereotypical woman, but could take on a more masculine role in manifesting an androgynous empowerment in the world of male rock stars.
There are many more unworldly, unique and almost impossible displays of shoes in the exhibition which I have not mentioned. They might leave you in awe with the profound implications of each of these symbols of history and evolution. Though, I do suggest that the captions of each display could be more brightly lit or brought closer to the glass. Being in a dim environment where words are sometimes too far from sight could unfortunately render one's in-depth understanding of the descriptions impossible.
Shoes, shoes, shoes! Everybody loves shoes! Shoes are no longer commodities, but collectibles for some. They also preserve an important role throughout history in relations to power, status and seduction. Do not forget the fairytales with which we are all familiar where shoes play an essential role as well. For example, Cinderella and her glass slippers!
Situated at Pacific Place, Shoes: Pleasure and Pain is an ongoing exhibition from 28 Sept to 28 Oct, 2018. It is curated by Helen Persson and organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, brought to us in Hong Kong for an inspirational journey where viewers are invited to ponder the meanings behind this collection of shoes from around the world.
Entering the dim exhibition area, I was immediately enticed by this breathtaking crystal shoe. It reflected in all directions colourful rays of light. It did not only stand out as a piece of artwork, but as a common reminder of childhood when the tale of Cinderella was told over and over until this very day. A child at the exhibition exclaimed in front of this shoe, telling her parents how she thought the shoe was made of plastic to resemble glass. Her parents, reinstalling in her the naivety of childhood, reassured her that the shoe was indeed made of crystal. What I find interesting in this interaction is the common fantasy of the magical and grand. A shoe is not only a symbol of that fantasy but a way of communication across generation where reinforcement of that symbol is needed, in a way to bring comfort to everyone.
If you are into Chinese history, you might have heard of foot-binding from the Song Dynasty until the early 20th Century. Foot-binding is where women's four digits were folded under and onto the back of the foot. This applied only to women from rich families, since evidently, this sort of binding would produce a mincing gait effect, which naturally implied the need for assistance from a servant in walking. Here in this exhibition, you would be able to see the horrendous shoes for bound feet. Most viewers gasped in disbelief, asking their viewing partners repeatedly if what they saw were really for human beings. Indeed, women have always been required to adopt a certain dainty manner which might in turns inflict pain on them. The modern day binding might be heels, in which women struggle to walk properly and painlessly unless with practice.
Besides questioning the feminine standard of an ideal seductive woman, ideal masculinity is also an important aspect to consider. In current society, I have the impression that gender binary seems to be more rigid than during the era of stars like David Bowie, Elton John, and Hong Kong stars like Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung, when high-heeled boots were an indication for hyper masculinity. This pair of boots was obviously lavishly designed with leather, which most people usually associate with seduction, and glass beads at the platform and heel. For most people, when they imagine the wearer of these shoes, women would probably pop up the quickest, but surprisingly, they were in fact given by Elton John, in other words, worn by him. It is interesting to see that heels and fancy, colourful beads did not limit to the stereotypical woman, but could take on a more masculine role in manifesting an androgynous empowerment in the world of male rock stars.
There are many more unworldly, unique and almost impossible displays of shoes in the exhibition which I have not mentioned. They might leave you in awe with the profound implications of each of these symbols of history and evolution. Though, I do suggest that the captions of each display could be more brightly lit or brought closer to the glass. Being in a dim environment where words are sometimes too far from sight could unfortunately render one's in-depth understanding of the descriptions impossible.
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