famous footwear embosses delicate magnolia petals with branded ‘sole impressions’

while walking along a landscaped path, friends and creative collaborators ben polkinghorne and scott kelly noticed something peculiar: the petals of fallen magnolia flowers scattered across the footpath displayed distinctive ‘bruised’ markings from people stepping on top of them. ‘the weight of people walking atop the freshly fallen petals — and the shoes on their feet — caused a reaction best described as bruising,’ the duo describe. ‘we gathered a collection of the most iconic shoes we could find, and we stood all over a bunch of petals.’

NIKE jordan academy

ben polkinghorne and scott kelly’s project ‘sole impressions’ sees 11 pairs of famous footwear — from the NIKE jordan academy to converse chuck taylors — create an imprint on delicate magnolia skins. after stepping on the petals for extended periods of time, the duo found the soles of each shoe ’embossed’ interesting patterns onto the petal, adding brand motifs and company signatures onto the fragile flower remains. marking the first piece of art polkinghorne and kelly created together, ‘sole impressions’ is available as an edition of 100 from the archivist’s gallery in london and subversion gallery in glasgow.

NIKE jordan academy, sole impression on a magnolia petal 

converse chuck taylor all star

converse chuck taylor all star, sole impression on a magnolia petal 

birkenstock arizona

birkenstock arizona, sole impression on a magnolia petal 

timberland 6-inch buck

timberland 6-inch buck, sole impression on a magnolia petal 

adidas originals superstar

adidas originals superstar, sole impression on  a magnolia petal 

vans authentic decon

vans authentic decon, sole impression on a magnolia petal 

reebok classic

reebok classic, sole impression on a magnolia petal 

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