INTESTINES

While I was researching traditional tanning, I came a cross the bushcraft principle of ‘using the whole animal’. The idea is that nothing goes to waste and when you kill an animal for its meat, you also use all the other parts. This principle got stuck in my mind, but only became a clear idea when I visited Mieke Langenhuizen again. She was making an art piece using pig intestines. The beauty of intestines is that they shrink when they dry out. I imagined this could work out nicely when braiding the material around the shape of a foot.

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Knowing the braiding techniques already from previous iterations, I wanted to implement the same braiding style with a different material. When shrinking, it would create an open structure. I contacted a butcher to get some old cow intestines, which they normally use for sausages. The intestine is salted, so needed to be rinsed thoroughly first. Initially I did not rinse enough, meaning it would not dry out properly. After braiding I gave it another rinse, after which the shoe started drying out well.

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The shoe became a very odd looking thing, of which the touch and feel is often described as ‘a dog treat’. Because it is dried out, it is really hard and stiff, but not unwearable. However, when soaked in water, it becomes soft again.