The Journey

Hand-carved alabaster stone on slate.
15Wx16.5Lx10H cm.

I moved to England in the year 2000. Once, while talking to my mother in Colombia, I learned she had found my first baby shoes and wondered if I wanted them she could bring them next time she visited me. To my dismay, only one shoe made it to England. She said the other shoe must have been still in Colombia. The shoes were apart now. It made think that I was also split between two countries, as if I had two choices, two destinies to choose from. What would my life have been like if I had stayed in Colombia? Recently, the missing shoe was found and given to me. I was very emotional when I saw it. I got the other one. They had been shaped by my little feet. I had taken my first steps wearing those shoes. They had their own personalities. One was a slightly different colour from the other, but it did not matter as they were finally together again. For me it was a validation that I had made the right choice in coming to England. I decided to hand-carve them in stone, to celebrate their reunion. A new beginning.