Dominic Ciambrone, better known by his alias {and now brand} The Shoe Surgeon, creates custom sneakers based on preexisting silhouettes, and has grown hugely successful off of his customization services. If Dominic Ciambrone is a surgeon, I am Dr. Frankenstein. My name is Elijah Grey Dalley, I dissect and graft together used sneakers and other waste materials to make upcycled footwear. I was born in Seattle, Washington, but have spent most of my life in Southern California. I am currently attending the University of California, Santa Cruz, where I am pursuing an Art Practice Major. I want to bring artistic rhetoric to shoe creation through utilitarian aesthetics and an anarchic ethos, instead of making shoes solely from a design perspective. A lot of my aesthetic is informed by pop culture and cult classics, more specifically post-environmental apocalypse media like Tank Girl and Mad Max, and action/comedy comics like Scud the Disposable Assassin, or pretty much anything by Evan Dorkin. I am not currently selling any of my works, although I hope to in the future. I am, however, looking for work, so please contact me if interested!
