Wearer Unknown

 

It is two years since I joined E.A.S.T. and we have been working for most of that time towards the 'Paradigm Shift' exhibition.

Reasearch and experientation are at the heart of E.A.S.T.s working practice, looking for ways to make work with real depth and meaning. Alongside regular one-to-one mentoring sessions with the group mentor Anthea Godfrey.

Each new series of work takes a long time to evolve. I have enjoyed all the research, the finding of a story to tell, and the experimentation of new materials and techniques. It has been a struggle at times and lots of things I tried just did not give me the result I wanted. But finally..........

My series is called 'Wearer Unknown' as despite my best efforts I was unable to discover the owner or wearer of the little clogs found in my mother's house.

My research led me to the Concealed Shoe index held by Northampton Shoe Museum where each shoe, discovered in the walls or chimneys of old buildings, has been recorded. 

The index lists the place, the location, the finder, the date and the shoe description but never the wearer

I have been free to imagine the wearers of my own little shoes and of those concealed shoes.

Plaster casts from my original clogs can help tell the stories

Shoes have been hidden for hundreds of years. 

Some are in a very poor state

Shoes feel very human, taking on the shape of the (unknown) wearer which can still be seen.

To help tell the story of  concealed shoes and their imagined wearer the plaster casts will walk on a path made from mixed media, recycled and rusted hexagons

The CSI. index number gives the location of each concealed shoe find.

Each hexagon relates to a concealed shoe entry using maps for the location, related text, and imagined fabrics for the wearers.

All are aged and distressed to suggest the many years the shoes spent in chimneys, roof spaces, under floorboards and in walls. 

You will be able to see the whole 'Unknown Wearer' installation including the supporting research notes and design work, at the E.A.S.T. exhibition.

Grundisburgh House Gallery

Woodbridge Road

Grundisburgh

Suffolk

IP13 6UD

20th May - 2nd June 2026

10.30 - 4.30 each day

FREE entry