Handmade patent gold leather pumps embroided with a black single neuron, 2026.
The song Veronica by Elvis Costello, is a tribute to his grandmother and to the young girl she once was. It is a song about forgetting a loved one, about a person slowly forgetting herself, even her own name. It explores her gradual slipping into the Alzheimer’s disease.
“Well, she used to have a carefree mind of her own
And a delicate look in her eye
These days, I’m afraid she’s not even sure
If her name is Veronica”.
Neurons form networks of connections that enable a dance of signals. In Alzheimer’s disease, these connections begin to disappear, and the network becomes fragmented. This is why memories can seem “lost”, yet sometimes return unexpectedly. After the loss of communication and connection, the neuron itself eventually disappears. Alzheimer’s is a neurodegenerative brain disorder, accompanied by cognitive decline and behavioural changes, as echoed in ‘Veronica’.
The shoe was designed and crafted for a distinguished British neuroscientist on the occasion of receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award 2026 at the gala dinner of the UK BioIndustry Association.
© Wout Speyers.
