Elisabeth Thorsen x Missie, 2020.
This shoe was made for the Shoes Have Names exhibition in collaboration with Jo Cope and Shelter UK which uses the power of craft to bring awareness to the individuals who face homelessness and eviction each day.
Thorsten: ‘I really love Missie’s spirit and love and respect her artistic impression.
I found it important to get people to think about how it could be in a homeless person’s shoes, how they look at homeless people and how they would manage being homeless themselves.
These difficulties are represented in the artwork as shoes not being the right size and shoes that can’t be worn at all. I had the idea of making shoe lights, candles are part of Missie’s home as is music, singing and performance.
The candle shoe is a type of ‘Sacred performance’, where people light a shoe and reflect on homelessness. It also reflects Missie’s own positive human aura and glow.
I have always liked the idea of lighting a candle for someone you love or to lament on something important.’
