Jo Cope (b. 1972, Leicestershire, United Kingdom) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Leicestershire, UK. Working primarily in installation art, her practice centres around handmade sculptural shoes crafted from materials such as leather and wood—materials with historical ties to the footwear industry and symbolic connections to the human body. Cope is best known for her use of the colour red and the creation of experimental footwear forms, which often explore female centred and socially driven narratives.

Cope’s practice frames the shoe as a vessel for exploring the human condition, with walking employed as both a conceptual framework and a participatory act. Her work is characterised by the use of foot-related objects that facilitate embodied learning. Cope encourages audiences to engage with knowledge through the body—particularly through the feet. Elements of performance, moving image, photography, historical artefacts, and therapeutic devices are integrated to construct emotionally resonant and socially engaged environments for reflection and exchange.

Notable projects include Walking on Water, a rooftop performance at the Venice Design Biennial; Shoes Have Names, a collaborative project with UK homelessness charity Shelter; Not All Roses Are Romantic, a performance and installation at the Garden Museum in London and No Woman Is an Island of Shoes, a three space installation for the Velenje Festival in Slovenia

Jo Cope has exhibited internationally at venues including Musée des Arts Décoratifs (France), the Hungarian National Museum (Hungary), the Garden Museum (UK), and Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design and Architecture (Belgium). Her work is held in collections such as the Shoe Museum in Northamptonshire, Museu do Calçado in Portugal, and Galerija Velenje in Slovenia. She has participated in the Material Movement Gala at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, 100 Years of the Suffrage Movement event at Buckingham Palace and Dyslexia: Beautiful Minds – the INSIDE OUT project, installed outside the Design Museum in London.

Loan Enquiries Contact: Info@jocope.com