DeShawn's Circuit Project

Artist Statement:
Initially, I had over 60-70 pairs of shoes. I’ve had a variety of shoes, but I didn’t necessarily wear them all the time. I had Nike’s I used to love to wear in middle school, dress shoes, miscellaneous sneakers, and boots. I wasn’t very fond of throwing any shoes away, so they accumulated on my shoe racks. And that’s how I got to almost a hundred of pairs shoes.

I was urged by my mother to get rid of the shoes I didn’t want to wear. But, in my mind, I wanted to keep them because I presumed I’d wear them sometime, knowing full and well, I’d never step foot in some again.

My love for shoes is indefinable. I became a collector of shoes. Many multi colored Nike’s were scattered in my “library” of shoes, a myriad of sandals, and sneakers. In middle school, I was always known for having such a diverse shoe style. I loved shoes so much, I’d buy inexpensive shoes from thirft shoes cheating myself into believing my 10 size feet would fit them, when they were one or two sizes lower. It was a sad cycle. And I knew I had to turn my ways around because I could spend my money on something else! Something that could actually fit me.

I began to get rid of shoes, persuaded by my mother. And the irony is, she has a multitude of shoes that she does not even wear. But, that’s beside the point. I put maybe 40-45 pairs of shoes in two large shopping bags. I put them to the side, eradicating them from my system. I got rid of the small, the big, and the ugly. Sooner or later, the friends the trickled into my home took shoes from my collection, the ones I removed. She nearly took over half the shoes! And I felt nothing of their departure. I was actually ecstatic, now know, I can replace the space.

I wanted to do a shoe for my project because they are wonderful and versatile. I specifically chose the shoe, I used, because it had a plain outside and I knew it would be simple and to the point. That was my aim. My own personal motto is “simplicity and convenience.” I wanted to convey that with the structure part of my project. White and black pixelated shoes, with ample, smooth front face room, was calling for white lights to accompany its design.

Simplicity, with a touch of white, a tad of black, and pizzazz!

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