Marc Chaimowicz first exhibited at Ikon in 1972, when he was establishing himself as one of the most avant-garde artists in the UK. He returned to Ikon thirty years later to recreate his shoe waste? Piece, an off-site project on the paths and bridges of the canal network around Birmingham’s Brindleyplace. His description of its first manifestation in London still rang true: ‘I had bought many, many second-hand shoes which I painted silver to enhance their value and to give them distance as objects. A friend and I would transport these shoes in large bags and drop them off at different points in the city. It was quite exciting. To my mind these clandestine operations were meant to target an uninitiated public.’