The Art Award, Tokyo Marunouchi, marking its sixth year this year, is designed to help identify and provide support for young artists. Over the past five years, it has become widely known as a gateway to success for young artists. This year’s grand prix was given to Mari Katayama (24). As a result of tibial hemimelia, a deficiency affecting the development of the tibia, she had both legs amputated at nine-years-old, making her an artist with prosthetic legs.
Her exhibition was titled “High Heels.” Two portraits were arranged at the back, one was of a girl wearing “legs she used to have” lying inside a small room filled with clothes, cushions, books, boxes and many other goods; the other showed a girl wearing high heels with stockings and a garter belt. In front of them, objects made of fabrics along with other pieces of art on the subject of legs and feet were displayed.
Starting from very private matters about the body, the artist connected the dots from various stages of life (memories from childhood, current daily life, and hope for the future), with various structural forms that can’t be described in words.
This was how her works of art were reviewed. It is a hyper-real collection, as Jean Baudrillard would say. However, the high-heels that she wore for the ceremony are completely separate from her “high heel” artwork series.
“High Heels”, 2012 http://www.shell-kashime.com/
In 2011, with a goal to wear high heels on a live music show, Mari had prosthetic feet that could be used with high heels imported from the U.S. They were called “high-style.” As she created shoes for her new feet, she discovered a problem that prosthetic leg users face.
As I proceed the project to achieve my goal, I found what prosthesis users face. Users lack chance to choose–Not only to choose high-heels, but also to choose to wear sandals, skirts, jackets… People don’t even know that they CAN choose.
Therefore, she named her challenge the “High Heel Project,” and positioned it differently from her other works of art, to draw attention to her insistence that can’t be put into words.
Mari describes high heels as follows, “For having both of the legs amputated, I could easily change my height. However, the small lift high heels creates completely a different view than my legs can give.” 。She shared her thoughts with me about the High Heel Project and fashion.
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