EMILIANA PONTONUTTI

Unlocked is a research inside the concept of beauty and fetish via the hair.
The reason that leads me to investigate this material comes from the natural properties of hair. It may be a seductive element on the head but at the same time it has the ability to create disgust or perversion when viewed as waste, for example in the mouth, in the bath drain or on the floor.
My research into fetishism, artefacts, surrealism and beauty have resulted in a multiplicity of objects and conceptual shoes. Some have been developed into “wearable” shoes while others are produced solely as functional art objects.
My work aims to overturn the classical idea of shoes through the introduction of innovative and extreme materials, creating objects and shoes with specific functions where human hair is the vehicle. The resulting objects serve as an example of new functional possibilities in the approach or in the construction of shoes. Through this process I tried to visualize how objects can become an element on a shoe while others are made to be more sculptural artefacts.