INTERVIEW WITH A SHOE

Exhibition runs 21 May - 3 June 2009
Venue Beach Blanket Babylon
Shoreditch, London

If Carrie Bradshaw's version of heaven were to be rendered in oil, canvas and sculpture, than the artistic shoe shrine that became the upstairs gallery of Shoreditch's Beach Blanket Babylon Wednesday night would certainly have been it. No, the fictional footwearaholic has not forsaken her on-screen writing career to render her passion in paint, but rather, London-based artist Alice Instone who has celebrated our favorite accessory in her new exhibit, "Interview with a Shoe." The exhibit features a series of more than twenty portraits of the favourite footwear of high profile names such as Annie Lennox, Elle Macpherson, Cherie Blair, Baroness Neuberger and Alice Temperley along with the stories that accompany them. Including how Terry De Hallivand made a special pair of gold Cobra and gold spot foil Python boots his wife Liz de Hallivand on the occasion of their engagement instead of a ring. Sure puts Big's measly Manolo to shame...Sorry, Carrie.

Accordingly, the launch party seemed to lead the famous and portraited feet of said subjects straight to the bramble-cocktail offering bar, making for quite the celebrity-studded and jam-packed opening night.

Before the show, I had a chance to interview the woman behind the shoes. British artist Alice lives and works in London. She has painted numerous high profile women and exhibited at the House of Commons and Royal Society of Arts. She was shortlisted for the Women of the Future Award in 2006. And would you know it, during the interview, Alice asked me if I'd sit for her as Dido for her next project, "Inside Out," exploring history's villification of the femme fatale. So I'm happy to say, this is a mere introduction to Alice's wonderful wonderland, with more to come in the future...But for now, back to the shoes. One step at a time.

Clothes Whisperer: Tell me a little bit about yourself as an artist.

Alice Instone: I started working full time as an artist in my late twenties. I did an English degree and worked teaching English at the University of Art and then began making T.V. ads. I guess you could say that I’m a feminist artist, really. A lot of my work is about women--ideas of gender, power and general contemporary cultural values. And as I have been painting all these powerful women I got interested in the shoes they were wearing. It’s amazing how much those shoes say about them it made me want to do some portraits of pairs of shoes. So that’s what led to idea for this show. Really, they are contemporary portraits. When I was painting the shoes I began to think shoes have a special quality about them that’s similar to a holy relic. You know saints’ bones...that kind of thing. And there’s something about the way the shoe is shaped to the foot and the story that the shoe offers to tell. So obviously I’ve got all these stories that go with the shoes that people have given me.

CW: So what are some of these stories?

AI: The gold platform shoes that Annie Lennox wore as a bridesmaid to Bob Geldolf’s and Paula Yates' wedding. Nicole Farhi gave me these really worn out gold shoes. You would think she’s this famous fashion designer she should have given me these really glamorous pair of shoes, maybe of her design, but she didn't: I love the fact she gave me these worn out shoes. That’s really saying something about her values--that she looks for quality and looves that time has made something beautiful by wearing it out. And the fact that David’s [Sir David Hare, her husband] shoes are worn out as well...they are really sole mates. I also painted the slippers that belonged to Pope Pius VII. And the shoes that Marilyn Monroe wore when she sang happy birthday to John Kennedy. All the others obviously I painted from life. People lent them to me. They’ve got this amazing presence about them, I think in the same way that we would get excited, or in the past we would get excited if we had the cross, or vials of holy blood, or some saints’ bones. I think shoes have got that something sacred about them. They’ve also got that real fetish side as well, which I tried to capture with the prints and the sculptures. I've got hilarious pair of “Killer Shoes,” they’ve got big teeth on them. This sculpture is huge and glittery. In fact, I would quite like some shoes with teeth on them, wouldn’t you? And all the values that we associate with shoes...there’s this real thing in the exhibit with shoes as trophies and hoarding the shoes. These are all things I try to explore in the show.

CW: How did you approach/select your subjects? Were there certain peoples' shoes you just thought to yourself, 'I'd really love to paint those'?

AI: For example, I painted Annie Lennox for my last show. So I went to her house and she has like an archive of costumes and we went through all the shoes and they’ve have got different stories. And obviously there’s this particular pair of gold shoes really jumped out at me. And then she asked me 'would you like to me ask so and so.' And so obviously I got a lot of people that way.

CW: Which pair (or story) did you find the most compelling?

AI: I think the most compelling story is the Annie Lennox one. Because that’s a bit of rock n’ roll history. In terms of history, I think the Bianca Jagger shoes are exquisite. I was just looking at them this morning, the actual shoes. They’re tiny as well, just like Cinderella would have worn. And the Brian Attwood boots for Temperley are pretty wow. Just in terms of the design of them and the actual painting’s a meter high. So they’re like pow, these huge platforms in front of you. And then I got really into using glitter. Because shoes are so much of a design thing, a lot of the projects came in a lot more design-led than my work usually is. And the glitter just seemed to go really well with what the show was all about. It’s magical, it’s sparkly, a bit of a magpie element to it. Those are the ones that immediately spring to mind.

CW: And the flip side? Which pair was the most difficult to paint?

A.I.: I found the most difficult ones to do Pat Cash’s because they’re trainers and trainers are so anonymous. I really struggled with them, I had them for a year and a half or something before I actually tried a piece of work on them. And I tried so many different things, so many different approaches. I tried doing prints with the sole of them, I tried doing a tennis footwork diagram with them, I tried all colors--I tried all sorts of things. But in the end I just ended up doing this really straightforward painting of them and tried to sort of look at the beauty of all the interlocking shapes. And how they are amazingly designed, trainers. I ended up doing the painting quite fast, and in the end it looked quite beaten up, because obviously there’s a sense of how you thrash trainers about as a piece of equipment. So I called the portrait, "Thrashing." I’d say they are one of the most difficult, precisely because trainers can belong to anyone and part of the power of the shoes is their ability to express individual stories. You’re not really expressing yourself when you put on a pair of trainers.

CW: How you feel your show links in with the current state of the world, financial crisis etc? Is there are more sinister or serious message to the shoes?

AI: Obivously this is linked to that. For exampe, there’s this huge canvas of all the shoes at the Oxfam depo in Spitalfields. The amount of these single shoes they have, they recycle them, these are odd shoes. So if they’re the same size but a black and a brown shoe, they match them up and then send them to Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe where lots of people are very poor and can’t afford shoes. If you’re on a farm in Africa you don’t care if you have a black and a brown shoe, it’s amazing to simply have a pair. There are parts of the world whrer children cant walk to school because they don’t have shoes. So there’s that kind of dark element. And I though there was something very eerie about the pile of shoes, obviously linked to the Holocaust. So there is that darker side to the exhibition but most people seem to be focused is the frivolous element. But if you come to the show and have a look at the sculptures you’ll see that some of them are a little bit darker. They’ve got collage on them. I had a very cathartic time cutting up all these celebrity magazines. You know bombarding us with messages about what we’ve got to buy and what size we’ve got to be and that kind of thing. One of them is called “Is Shopping the New Religion?” and it’s all covered in “you’ve got to have this” and “this is the new (fill in the blank),” essentially very consumer led messages. And there’s one that’s called “5-0” and it’s covered in hilarious things--it made me giggle a lot when I was doing it. It’s covered all in messages like “my cellulite’s making me squirm.” That’s the kind of flip side of the consumerism that goes with shoes. And there’s mad statistics about the amount of shoes that women consume each year. 8% of British women own more than 100 pairs of shoes. And there’s 7.5 million shoes languishing unworn in our wardrobes.

CW: What do you think about the current trend of fashion espousing art and vice-versa? Museums putting on fashion exhibits, designers retrospectives, that kind of think that's been hapenning more frequently lately?

AI: It’s funny because in some ways, art and fashion are opposites. Art is meant to be something that lasts forever and obviously the whole idea of fashion is that it is ever changing. But then there’s the beauty of fashion, if you just go to the National Gallery, all those fine outfits that people are wearing in all the old master paintings. And so obviously artists are drawn to anything that’s beautiful. So really that’s the relationship between art and fashion. And obviously consumerism. It’s kind of ironic, on the one hand, we are criticizing sculptures, on the other, we are selling sculptures and hopefully tempting looking paintings celebrating shoes.

Alice's shoes that evening

CW: So what's next?

A.I. Well I’ve already started my next project. It’s called “Outside In” and it’s paintings of notorious women from history. The idea being that history’s been unfair to women and they’ve been charged very harshly for things men did and it was completely socially acceptable to do so. And why is it we love to hate women so in the media? Going back to the Bible, Eve, why did she get the blame? So I’ve got a selection of friends and other artists and again other celebrities sitting as women from the past and I’m trying to reinterpretations of well known paintings of these women. For example, I’ve just done a very trippy version of that Anne Boleyn painting that everybody knows. I’m also doing miniatures, big history style paintings and miniatures. I’ve done a couple of Laura Bailey looking very ethereal. It’s quite near the beginning and I do find that my projects tend to take on a life of their own and sometimes I end up with something quite different from what I set out to do. I think it’s more interesting in some ways if you don’t know the outcome. In my head I keep calling it “Wicked Women,” but I don’t want to scare anyone off with that title, but secretly, that’s what I’m calling it.

And now...the shoes


Untitled, Orange and Black Westwood

On the Couch

Memory Shoes

"These shoes have several memories for me. I wore them for the reception when I left the Kings Fund as CEO in 2004. I wore the mto a party where I met someone who has since become a great friend and colleague. They convinced me to wear turquoise and shocking pink together, and though they are pas their prime, I can't bear to throw them away." Julia Neuberger, Baroness Neuberger, DBE

SexPot

If the Shoe Fits

My Louboutins Glowed

"These Louboutins had the great honor of stepping on stage with...PRINCE!!!!! My idol was at the O2 arena playing a record 21 sold out shows last August and September, and I was asked to open for him on two of those shows...Naturally, my first thought was 'what do I wear?!' Being me, I decided to choose my outfit feet first. I knew the metallic pewter with the flash of red sole would be seen clearly around the arena, so they were an obvious choice. What my feet didn't know was that after my opening slot was over, Prince would grab me backstage and tell me that I was to play another THREE hous with him at his aftershow in the Indigo, a club next door to the arena!!!!!! My heart lept, and my Louboutins glowed as we rocked the stage for the greatest night of my life. How could life get any better? Easy, when Prince pointed to my feet and said, 'those are hot!'" Berverley Knight

Foot Fetish

Shoebaloo

The Show's Over

Keepsake

"These shoes have sat in my wardrobe for a decade since they were lovingly chosen and then hand-dyed to order for a dear friend's wedding at which I was matron of honour. Sadly the shoes outlived the marraige. However I beliece that our continuing friendship will outlive both. I keep this hardly -worn footwear as a reminder of the female friendship and solidarity that has been such an important and enduring feature of my life." Shami Chakrabarti

Meant for Each Other

"We both adore our shoes and wear them forever as you will see. We were meant for each other." (Nicole), Nicole Farhi and Sir David Hare

These Boots Were Made for Walking

“We all have a favourite pair of shoes and they often reveal something about us without us even realising. I have a pair of black cowboy boots that I’ve had since I was a teenager. I’ve worn them on so many different occasions that they conjure up great memories. Alice has a talent for capturing something quite functional to evoke its charm and make an emotional connection.” Elle MacPherson

Cinderella Shoes

"Manolo Blahnik designed these beautiful shoes, they are my favorites, I call them my Cinderella shoes. I have to resist the temptation to wear them too often, as I can't bear the thought of them wearing out. I have worn them on so many memorable occasions. I especially remember one evening with Yves Saint Laurent, where he decorated my ball gown with ferns before the party. When I wear them I am always scared that the fairytale will end at midnight." Bianca Jagger

The Little Church of the West Las Vegas

"These gold platform shoes have a special poignancy for me. I bought them to wear at Bob and Paula's 'first' wedding ceremony in Las Vegas, where they'd asked me to be their bridesmaid. There was very little time to get any clothes together, as the whole thing was very 'spur of the moment.' The groom and best man dashed off to a dodgy men's outfitter to hire purple polyester suits, and I managed to find an outfit in a department store that gave met he apperance of a fabulous Indian restaurant interior (i.e. the walls). With massive fake gold hoop earrings and a sailor's hat...the gold platform shoes were the perfect footwear for teh occasion, only teh high heeled platforms made me teeter and tower over everyone else...except for Bob of course. He's a tall kind of fellow that one! You can't teeter and tower over him for f...s sake now can you?!" Annie Lennox

Shoes of the Muse

"I have been coveting Terry De Havilland's shoes for years so when he said that he would make a selection for me I thought the occasion couldn't go wrong without the appropriate christening. I love this silver pair so much that I was too afraid to wear them out to a party. The irony is I ended up giving them their first outing at a huge party in New York which took place on the same night as a huge freak storm. I ended up taking them off and carrying them the rest of the way home so I could dance in the rain. The shoes were fine, but the hair suffered!" Jodie Harsh

Pope Pius VII

Pope Pius VII, the eighteenth century Roman Catholic Pontiff, wore this custom-made red velvet slipper with gold embroidery and cruciform motif. Thomas Lawrence painted him wearing the papal slippers in 1819 (Royal Collection, Windsor). The Papal Slippers are a historical vestment of the Roman Catholic Church and are always red. They are made by hand with red satin, red silk, and gold thread, and the soles are made of leather. Until the firt half of the 20th century, it was customary for pilgrims having an audience with teh pope to kneel down to kiss one of his slippers.

Cinderella

"The step-sisters had to trick the pirnce by cutting off parts of their feet in order to get the slipper to fit; one her heel and one her toe."

The Red Shoes

"Thou shalt dance on thy red shoes, from door to door, in the dark night, over thorn and brier, till thou art pale and cold, and till thy body shrivels to a skeleton."

Head over Heels

In Her Shoes

Thrashing

"Like most athletes I beat the hell out of my body and equipment--these shoes are no exception. Tennis is seen as a glamour sport, but that is far from the truth if you witness the behind the scenes blood, sweat and tears. Like these shoes I am beaten up, having done many a mile on the court, pushing myself and my shoes to the limit. I am almost too old even to play the Legends tour, but until then my shoes will get a thrashing." Pat Cash

They've Got Soul

"Peter has one pair of shoes which he wears until there are literally holes in the soles and they're falling apart. Because he wears them every day, the only pair we could give to Alice were his bedroom slippers, which as you can see are just as bad; quite literally they've got soul." Chrissie Blake

My Favourite Shoes

"I used to have a radio show on GLR. It was the mid-morning show--and Chris Evans was my producer. It was his first job in London and he was something of a genius--my first job on the radio--and neither of us actually knew if anyone was listening. One morning I came in for my show and realised as I entered the building that I'd forgotten to put on any shoes. I had overslept-it was spring-it was a mistake. Chris rather seied the moment and told me to let my listeners know that if anyone had a spare pair of size 5 shoes, could they bring them to the studio. And about 10 minutes later, someone did. A really horrid pair of red wellingtons, which I put on. About 5 minutes later, someone else brought flip flips. And 10 minutes later, I got a pair of nearly new sandals. At 11am Emma Hope (then a brand new shoe designer with her first tiny shop in Islington) came by with a box of brand new footwear, all of which she gave me--and by the time I came off the air at midday--I had 76 new pairs of shoes. Tragically, I was still wearing the wellingtons when I did my final interview for the day which was a quick phone chat with the producer of the second ever Red Nose Day, taking place that week. We talked about how preparations for the show were going, who was presenting it and where the money was going. Thank god the chat was over the phone so he couldn't see what I was wearing. As an interview, it did not rock the world--but it rocked mine. I still have the nasty wellies. And I also still have him. We have been together for 18 years, work together every day and have 4 children." Emma Freud

Lucky Shoes

"These are my lucky shoes...something special always seems to happen when I wear tham, (...found out I was pregnant with my daughter, heard friends were getting married, moved to NY...and back again...). They've been worn to death but I don't care. They'll have many more outings...and hopefully bring even more luck." Laura Bailey

Little Lost Shoe

Is Shopping the New Religion?

Killer Shoes

Thigh High
Patent Boots, Brian Atwood for Temperley London

2005 Election Trail

"These pink shoes are one of my favorite pairs and always remind me of the campaign for the 2005 general election, when, the morning after polling day I wore them as we stood on the doorstep of No 10 for the victory photographs. Not perhaps the most practical shoes for walking the campaign trail, but I thought they looked great." Cherie Blair

Comfortable and Strong

"I love these shoes because they are comfortable and strong." Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf

Love Boots

"Terry made them for me on the occasion of our engagement. We were pretty skintat the tme an Terry, who could never be described as conventional, decided that it would me much more romantic to hand make me something exquisite rather than buy me a ring for the sake of it. These boots are crafted in a mixture of gold Cobra and gold spotfoil Python. He'd had those particular snakeskins for over twenty years and was keeping them for something special. They are a true one off, never to be repeated and I adore them." Liz and Terry de Havilland

Baron Woolf's son sports his father's "comfortable and strong" brogues giving new meaning to the term "wearable art"

The Scene

The launch itself featured some very tasty iced bramble cocktails (definitely stronger than they looked) as well as a millieu of the well and wacky dressed, some of Alice's shoe sitters amongst them, including Jodie Harsh et al. Eventually, guests were shoe-d downstairs to the main bar where the the Babylonians continued on late into the night.

Alice, Jodie Harsh with the owners of BBB

Featured Fashion Blog