Shoe and Tell: A Celebration of Teenage Identity is a continuous strand to this project. This research seeks to understand how in a society where there is so much emphasis on image, teenagers negotiate their identity. Through interviews, workshops and photography with the 16 to 19 year old demographic, the research investigates how shoes communicate identity.
The research findings evidence that teenagers strive to be individual and that they need to feel different, comfortable, confident, and powerful. The research demonstrates how the ordinary and everyday object of shoes can reveal emotions and experiences. This process creates an opportunity for teenagers to communicate their feelings about themselves and the world around them, and to assert themselves as empowered and valued individuals.
Shoes & Identity 