Leren schoen van Perzisch maskeradekostuum c. 1913

This is a leather shoe for a Persian masquerade costume made anonymously at an unknown date. I wonder who wore this shoe and what kind of dances they performed in it? You can tell it's been worn, because it has a great patina, and you can see the marks and creases from someone’s foot. They are a kind of slipper shape, I can imagine them padding softly across the floor. It makes me think about my own process as a painter. I'm always looking for ways to let the material speak. The way the leather here seems to have aged, softened, and molded to the wearer’s foot. All those marks, aren’t they kind of like brushstrokes? It's about the push and pull of intention and chance, control and release. I am in conversation with this anonymous maker, across time.