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The Path is a Metaphor - Museu do Calçado, Portugal


  • Museu do Calçado - Shoe Museum 591 Rua António José de Oliveira Júnior São João da Madeira, Aveiro, 3700-204 Portugal (map)

September 2024 sees the opening of Artist Jo Cope’s new exhibition ‘The Path is a Metaphor’ at Portugal’s prestigious shoe museum in S. João da Madeira.

The Path has long been used as a metaphor for life’s journey and the decisions made along the way, from poetry about untrodden paths and religious parables about the right path to take to quotes about the path as a symbol of internal truth or wisdom. The concept of the path in the case of a creative, might be considered to hold greater advantages when unconventionally shaped. 

Cope has long been drawn to the visual perspective of the path, which often appears as a triangular shape extending from the feet, with the endpoint disappearing into the distance. She thinks of this as a symbol of optimism, representing an invitation to the future that is always in front of you. 

Paths and walking are intrinsically linked, and the benefits of walking have long been documented as aiding thinking and contemplation. Cope uses walking to gain mental clarity on thoughts and ideas. 

The image of the path as a route to enlightenment or self-discovery is well-worn in religious and philosophical thinking, and it is widely used to illustrate ideas about progression through life and self-discovery. 

The exhibition stimulates the imagination with irrational colour and scale, allowing the audience to lose themselves as though on a solitary walk. Throughout the exhibition, iconography relating to external and internal environments overlaps to represent inward journeys.


The exhibition is open to the public until May 2025, and closed on Mondays and from 12.30pm - 2pm daily.

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18 April

Exhibit A: Investigating Crime and Footwear - Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto