Joel Wijangco’s daring shoe exhibit opens at Yuchengco Museum
Blending surrealism, pop culture, Filipino folklore and personal memory, Wijangco’s works playfully interrogate identity, memory and the absurdities of beauty.
Daily TribuneBlending surrealism, pop culture, Filipino folklore and personal memory, Wijangco’s works playfully interrogate identity, memory and the absurdities of beauty.
‘Osuang.’
‘Mahadera’
‘Bond(age).’
‘Fitting ni Sioning.’
‘Sister’s Favorite.’
Avant garde footwear designer and art provocateur Joel Wijangco recently unveiled his latest exhibit at the Yuchengco Museum, blurring the line between fashion, sculpture and social commentary.
The exhibit showcases over 25 pieces of handcrafted shoes, each acting as a sculptural narrative. From Bo-ho (Body Horror), a twisted stiletto exploring body dysmorphia; to Palengkera No. 1, inspired by the fishwife Amazons of Malabon’s wet markets, Wijangco’s work straddles art, fashion and emotional archaeology.
“I design shoes the way some people write memoirs,” says Wijangco. “Each pair is a story… sometimes mine, sometimes borrowed, always intimate and strange.”
Exhibit highlights include:
Sister’s Favorite, a noodle-inspired heel made during his sister’s breast cancer journey.
Bond(age), an ox-red stiletto with six buckles and a golden halo, satirizing the trap of lifelong commitment.
Osuang, a Gothic heel born from colonial anxieties around Filipina sensuality, reimagined for tropical vampires.
Fitting ni Sioning, based on a shoe fitting with his grandmother, who revealed a tenderness hidden behind decades of sharpness.
Blending surrealism, pop culture, Filipino folklore and personal memory, Wijangco’s works playfully interrogate identity, memory and the absurdities of beauty. The exhibit runs until 15 October. Admission is free.
