THE SHOE LAB STAGE EDITION 2023 FEATURES THE PROJECTS OF:
Studio Joris de Groot with the 2000N Pressed Shoe, born from a research into the production process of a car interior. Fascinated by the production process of a car interior, Joris started experimenting with existing techniques and materials to explore its possibilities. By adapting a test fixture in manufacturing company Freudenberg and implementing a traditional shoe last into the molding process, shoes could be molded in a simple but innovative way. These shoes developed by Joris are a link to the exhibition Cuir Bouilli, the modern rendition of shaping a flat material into a 3-dimensional form. In the Shoe Lab, Joris developed + printed soles.
Kristiyan Hiristov has been Artist in Residence at the Shoe Quarter's Bodehuis for the past few months, further developing his graduate project "Rapid Foot Evolutions": how the use of biomimicry can be employed in designing and making shoes using VR design and 3D printing.Â
Clemens Tomlow 's "Monster under the bed" is a collection of costumes that challenge the viewer to look again from the perspective of a child. Clemens Tomlow's interest in this subject began with a personal experience. As a queer person, he often felt like someone's version of a monster: weird, strange and misunderstood. His monsters express how he holds his own in the world. In collaboration with the Shoe Lab, he is developing shoes for his monsters. Â
Also on display is work by 2nd year students from the Body Building studio of the Design Academy Eindhoven (DAE). They worked for 3 months in the Shoe Lab on their projects.
Design Academy Eindhoven has partnered with the Shoe Lab since 2023 as a workshop for students to learn knowledge and skills and for design implementation. Â
Shoe Lab is unique in the world
Curator Marijke Bruggink on the Shoe Lab; "We in the Netherlands can be really proud of this Shoe Quarter in Waalwijk. A museum and knowledge center in this set-up in the field of shoes does not exist in the whole world. We have a wonderful collection in a fantastic building, as well as the Shoe Lab where schools, designers, industry and visitors meet. In this Shoe Lab we have machines that can be used by the professionals, often in combination with our own experts and craftsmen. Visitors are allowed to watch, who see what is happening and can also sign up for workshops. Schools can also sign up for future programs.
Until early April, as an extension of the temporary exhibition, among other things, we are still working on Cuir Bouilli, leather that is boiled and then pulled around a mold giving it a very solid shape. An ancient technique that we linked to the "now. So from armor, shields from ancient times to corsets to new applications. Joris de Groot's project is a great example of this."