Elvira Corbascio’s Yeezy Wax project gives a whole new meaning to “statement shoes”

Have youth become obsessed with shoes? How often do we find ourselves inside a deep obsession with sneakers? We can now say that they have become a real status and sometimes creatives are even more surprising with their prototypes made with innovative techniques or 3D softwares. The multidisciplinary artist Elvira Corbascio has analyzed the sneakers obsession with her art project entitled Yeezy Wax and has reproduced some of the most famous and sought-after trainer models, Yeezy by Kanye West for the German sportswear company Adidas, using WAX. But, can sneakers be a work of art? Let’s find out!

How did your obsession with sneakers start?

Since I was a child, I’ve always had an obsession with sneakers. My mom says the first thing I looked at in a human being was shoes!! Based on the shoes I decided if I liked someone or could be worthy of my attention. They bought me more shoes than toys, and I spent hours and hours staring at my feet and admiring them. Nike and Adidas were clearly the most popular and also my favorites. I didn't care much about clothes, but for shoes, I went out of my mind. That's how it is still, in fact, I continue to collect them.

You have made a prototype project, Yeezy Wax, which is wild, and we love it. What is it inspired by?

Today, through the use of social media, it is easy to reach new methods to conceive differently something defined in our eyes. We must be open to creativity, to ‘different’, so as to significantly alter our customary system of observing things around us. There must be no criterion, a rule, in order to express an idea, a concept, an image, a drawing, an abstraction. Everything must be strongly influenced, and we must give it meaning and give it a subjective value, without filters and prejudices. Everything we see is altered, everything can be beautiful for someone, and horrendous for someone else. Diversity is always an added value, regardless of the personal considerations and the reaction that something can arouse.

The premise is a bit long and complex, but what I'm trying to say is fast and straightforward. When we look at something for the first time, when we see something totally new in our accustomed eyes, a kind of instant adverse reaction is unleashed. But you also get another effect, it flares up curiosity, that illogical desire to look again and again that stuff that disgusted us, horrified us. At first glance, in this case, looking at these silhouettes, I think this is the reaction you have immediately. Here, I wanted to provoke and make these “wax shoes” to impress and at the same time, to ignite curiosity.

What’s the philosophy of Yeezy WAX, are there any visual references or inspiration you can point to?

At first, I did not know what result I would get and what would come out of this experiment and what these prototypes would actually look like, working with wax. The thought that guided this project was the desire to overturn a cult object, known to all, and make sure that everyone recognized that same object even in a monstrously different guise. The visual references that I did not have at the beginning can only be imagined now by seeing the prototypes. There are those who say "it looks like slime" or I say "stalactite".

We found amazing DEFINE INSANE and ASH PEARL models. How did you transform the concept of the Yeezy line by Kanye West x Adidas using unusual materials? Just walk us through the design process of both.

So far the prototypes I've made are based on the QNTM -

https://www.instagram.com/p/CidHiAiI5Ap/ - and BOOST 350 V2 - https://www.instagram.com/p/Cjh31LBot4A/ - models. I enjoy giving names to models recalling those of the shoes based on the colors, but not always.

"Define insane" in this case was not the name of the model but a provocation for the last post on Instagram. :) The choice of materials has undergone several changes. In the beginning, I wanted to work modeling molten plastic, but finding and using this type of substance would have been too complex, and it was also not clear what would come out. I had to come up with it and think of something else to get what I had fantasized about. So I said to myself, “why not use wax? The implementation process requires a lot of patience, it has a duration of about 5h. Care must be taken not to damage the real shoe, from which you get the shape. The shoe is wrapped completely in insulating paper, clearly, before being sprinkled with molten wax, but it is an operation that requires extreme precision to avoid inconveniences. This manoeuvre is crucial for processing. Next, once a solid surface is obtained, we can remove the intact shoe from the inside, rebuild the sole, and proceed again with the molten wax, until completed.

How important is it to be open to creativity and to “ different “ nowadays?

It is not only important, I believe it is fundamental, and it becomes necessary. In creativity as in life and in everything, one must know how to adapt, look beyond, move forward, research, get used to changes, be open to the "new" and therefore to the "different".

What’s your favorite project that you’ve worked on?

The first prototype I made, for sure. For the simple fact that I believe that it has an emotional and affective value greater than the others.

A letter to your future self. What would you write?

The Back to the Future trilogy and Doc's letter to Marty come to mind.

"Dear Marty, if my calculations are correct you will receive this letter as soon as the DeLorean is struck by lightning .......?"

I would like to answer this terrible, unusual and fascinating question in the least trivial way possible, but I'll just say what I think. I don't know exactly what I would say to myself, in fact, I probably don't know at all. I can't imagine the future, because for me it doesn't exist. The future is just an idea, an imaginary, a thought that causes anxiety and loads expectations. It's just a question you ask yourself, a question mark, it's just a pretext to test yourself and ask yourself what life you would like, compared to the life you have. The future is for the optimists, I am not optimistic. The truth is that we are all afraid of this word because it is what we do not know that frightens us. So to reassure myself, I like to remember once again what Dr. Emmett Brown said “Your future has not yet been written, that of anyone. Your future is how you will create it. So make it good. "There is still one phrase in particular that I have at heart when it comes to the future: “My future starts when I wake up every morning. Every day I find something creative to do with my life. Miles Davis”

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