These giant calliper boots are over two metres high, and reference the humour of Monty Python and the many cartoons and children’s TV shows which I loved as a child in the 1970s. They’re both left-footed, to demonstrate my neurological condition, and that feeling that something isn’t quite right. They stand side by side, one slightly forward of the other, with a narrow space between them.
The boots are painted with 1970s psychedelic cellular shapes, with bursts of pinks, greens, oranges and purples, and star motifs on the heels and toes. They’ve got thick soles and laces up the front. A Union Jack is on the sides of the boots, a connection with the 1980 Olympic Games, which was an important time for me, when Seb Coe ran in the Moscow Olympics – more about that when we get to the next sculpture.
I had to wear calliper boots to stop my legs and ankles from turning in, but they were the implements of torture. They were made of the finest Italian leather, and were absolutely made to measure, so they fitted my feet perfectly. But they had no decoration and were purely functional. They came in two colours – black or brown. They were large and unwieldy. I used to call them my Frankenstein boots, as they were so big and ugly. I fantasised about wearing Doc Martens, 21-holed “bad boy” boots, as they were cool. I thought it would be wonderful to have decorated boots.
My calliper boots had slots in the outer soles where the iron callipers were inserted. These ran up either side of my legs, to just under my knees, where a leather strap was attached to keep them in place. The straps would rub and cause sores.
On my sculpture I’ve decorated the callipers and the strap with cheerful bright patterns in purple, turquoise, yellow and green. The bit of bare leg showing between the top of the boot and the strap is flesh-pink, with a pattern of blobs and bubbles in soft pinks and yellows.
I associated the callipers with the negative depictions of disability which surrounded me, such as the charity boxes that were outside shops, showing young children wearing callipers. So through this sculpture I decided to reclaim the boots as my own avatar, as a reclamation of these instruments of torture. I’ve claimed them as a positive depiction of how I feel about my disability. The boots are now bright, beautiful and full of colour.