Every gallery now and again needs an unusual exhibition and The Joy of Stilettos is it for Lemon Hill Gallery this year.
“Stiletto shoes are dramatic, they have a whole ethos of glamour, power, style and controversy around them,” Lemon Hill Gallery owner Elizabeth Blakeman said.
“They may be loved or ridiculed, despised or enjoyed, but most people do react. This exhibition is centred round Joy Rossi’s collection and she always wore them for work in Canberra.
“Without a stiletto in the public service you were not in the race. They conveyed cutting edge efficiency and an up-to-date attitude, and signaled awareness of nuance, style and, perhaps, veiled power.”
However, there are other shoes in the collection, gleaned from op shops and from friends and relatives. One pair is a ‘car to bar’ shoe which has no structure to hold your heel in place. It is implicit, almost explicit, that this lady will not be ‘a walk in the park’.
Others are designed to sparkle under a spotlight at a wedding, or glitter in subdued light at the theatre. There is a hot pink platform stiletto and a yellow polka dot pair, both worn at ‘the office’ designed to catch the boss’s eye with a touch of humour. Two pairs are designer shoes, an expensive imitation leopard skin pair by Dolce and Gabbana of Italy and one made by Pied a Terre, a brand worn by Kate, Princess of Wales.
Stilettos go with classy little handbags, bottles of champagne and gold Parker pens.
The exhibition will open in September. See public notices in the classified ads for further information.
“The public, wearing stilettos or not, (and aware of the rough terrain in farm paddocks) is welcome to come and admire or be sarcastically outraged and to enjoy a few ‘extras’, contributed by local, crafty, friends,” Elizabeth said.
