Shoe Trees 1970 - 1971

Editor: This is Colin Self’s "Shoe Trees." It's hard to make out exactly what they are, but there’s something unsettling about the forms floating in the stark white space. What do you make of it? Curator: Well, let's consider Self's broader body of work, which frequently explores anxieties around technology and the body. These shapes, suggestive yet unspecific, might represent a commentary on consumerism and its dehumanizing effects. The "shoe trees," detached and almost ghostly, could symbolize how commodities can both shape and confine us. What does it mean to you, in that context? Editor: I hadn't considered the consumerism aspect. It's interesting how something so seemingly mundane can be loaded with social commentary. Curator: Exactly! And that tension, between the everyday and the critical, is precisely where the power of art lies.