Shoes always point where we wish to go: Q&A with Jo Cope, artist and designer

Jo Cope is an artist and designer who uses shoes to explore her own experiences, combining craft and conceptual thinking to highlight social justice and environmental issues, including fashion waste, homelessness and youth and gender-based violence. Originally trained as a fashion designer, Jo Cope’s work encompasses both traditional techniques and unconventional shoe-making approaches, resulting in a body of work that encompasses both real and metaphorical shoes. In this interview Professor Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas of Ravensbourne University invites Jo Cope to share her creative journey that includes a fascinating family history in shoemaking, as well as the links between craft, making and sustainability as seen in collaborations with charities including Shelter, and textile recyclers innovating in upcycling and recycling waste materials.