Ellie Iguchi Under the High Heels

SIze:35x33x35cm

Painted resin and wood

Beneath pure white high heels, a woman’s body quietly supports their weight. Her head is bowed to the floor, her lower body transformed into the high-heeled legs that bear the shoes, her very form becoming a structural entity. This piece, in which Ellie Iguchi expands her consistent motif of "high heels" into the human body itself, is one of the most symbolically profound works in her series.

High heels have long been spoken of as an item symbolizing beauty, elegance, and an independent female image. Yet, at the same time, they impose a burden on the body, also symbolizing the ideal image and norms that society expects of women. In this work, the paradoxical composition in which a woman's own body supports the high heels raises the fundamental question: "Who is supporting beauty?"

The uniformly white sculpture strips away ornamentation, highlighting its pure form as a sculpture. In contrast, the vivid red lipstick applied only to the face draws attention as the sole strong color. Contrasting with the expressionless, closed eyes, the red lips symbolize femininity, sensuality, and the "charm" expected by society, quietly bringing to light the silence and tension beneath the surface of beauty.

The work as a whole, with its anatomically impossible structure, simultaneously evokes a sense of unease and humor in the viewer. While its concept is reminiscent of surrealism, it is not merely a fantastical expression. Through high heels, an everyday fashion item, Ellie Iguchi elevates the complex relationships between female self-expression and self-sacrifice, beauty and freedom, independence and social roles in contemporary society into a poetic sculptural form.

While seemingly light and humorous, within its quiet form lies a universal question: "Why do we strive to be beautiful?" and "For whom is this beauty?" This work can be considered one of Ellie Iguchi's most symbolic and sculptural expressions of her signature theme: "the meaning of adornment."