Category Archives: Strange

Strange

A pair of pairs

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Bonus time again in the abandoned shoes found in the street department.
Yesterday I found a pair of these mock crocs out in front of the Newtown Community Centre. For some reason, left atop a bin, near the market area. They looked in great shape, even if they’re crap shoes.

But much stranger were this other pair, left right outside my door. Not only am I noticing these shoe-leave-behinds, but I think they’re following me.

There they were, right at my front door, waiting for me. Sadly, not my size. Funky orange striping though, bet they’d make good cycling shoes.

Have you seen my Mary-Janes?

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It keeps happening, and I have never seen it elsewhere other than in Sydney, or maybe this is the fist place I noticed it?

Another pair of abandoned shoes, discovered on my way home in the underpass at Central Station.

I’ve kept the colour balance untouched as the eerie green tinge of the fluorescent lights helps convey the strangeness of the situation. A plain pair of office shoes, possibly even bought from Office, slightly scuffed but still very usable, with a little care and attention, tidily tucked to the side of the passageway.

Is this a particularly Australian thing or are people often abandoning their perfectly usable footwear in the streets the world over?

More pairs in the street

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Bopping along this morning, I decided that Femi Kuti is great marching-to-work-at-a-nice-pace music. So intent on the music, I almost failed to notice there’s a great pair of shoes against a bright yellow wall. Used Instagram to dilute the intense colours a bit. This is all part of the abandoned shoes project.

Hope you like.

Boots and slippers

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As I was wandering the lanes and back-streets from a great afternoon at the White Rabbit Gallery in Chippendale, I decided to stay in the lanes to see if I could recognise the backs of the houses I knew well from passing them so often from the front.

After stopping to consider if seven potted pansies left in a row behind a back gate were intended for public consumption, I spotted these fine boots.

Contrary to my usual practice of leaving these discovered footwear pairs undisturbed, I slightly rearranged these so you could see that they were infact, intact and not damaged in any way.

The story of these must be interesting, so near the gardener who so generously offered up a string of plants for people to take. Maybe she felt extra generous and started to put out some of her superfluous wardrobe for general consumption.

Having snapped that pair, slightly pleased that the week has not passed without a footwear find, I continued on, enjoying the laneways and architectural oddities of the back of Wilson St.

It was then another pleasant moment to see this mad collection of footwear, telling it’s own story of loss, adventure and missed solace!

This pair of slippers, plus a practical boot and a single flashy heel almost could be lined up to a narrative of it’s own, which I hope you will attempt to supply in the comment area below.

Happy writing!

Abandoned foundations

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In the past few months I have been noticing pairs of shoes left in the outdoors, snug, together, as if in the closet or by the door. They all look wearable and usable, but alone and apparently un-claimed. Here’s a pair from yesterday.

This pair was at Bondi Beach, a short walk from the beach, near the showers. A warm winter day with some people still swimming and playing in the surf. No-one anywhere near them, which was odd as there were many people who would have considered taking them for themselves in the area.

But it’s not the first time.

it’s the 7th pair I have noticed in two months.

Here’s the pair that started it off, found in the Domain, across the roads from the Art Gallery of NSW.

Sitting tidily at the side of the park, as if their wearer came from the road, slid them off and ran into the grassy park, never to need shoes again. SO between late April and yesterday I have 6 pairs to show you, listed here, in order. Each one must have a story of its’ own, a narrative that digs deep into someone else’s life. These shoes tell more than any Manolo Blahnik could.