Santoni through the eyes of Bruno Aveillan

Santoni through the eyes of Bruno Aveillan Santoni collaborates with award-winning multi-media French artist Bruno Aveillan creating a short movie and a series of pictures that talk about manual dexterity, dedication, extended timelines, craftsmanship. The culture of making things is expressed through an elliptical narrative defined by skilful gestures. The process of construction of a shoe made by hand offers the plot of a story that is always the same yet always different, repetition being the only key uniqueness. With a gaze that is both poetic and analytical – an analysis made of feelings, empathy, emotions, because it is always the heart that communicates to the mind, and not vice versa – Aveillan tiptoes into the Santoni ateliers, where unique creations come to life through techniques that are passed on from hand to hand and innovation stems from tradition. He moves lightly, almost unseen, like a lyrical voyeur. The atmosphere is suspended: the images ooze a painterly, timeless aura. Naturally and silently, Aveillan chooses his protagonists: the hands of the artisans, the tools that they use. He isolates the different elements into an abstract and pragmatic dimension. Far from being mere contemplation, the observation follows the course of the loving gestures that give life to the shoes. But it is not on the product that Aveillan focuses: rather, on the process, on the rituals and emotional precision that define the DNA of handmade shoes. Bruno Aveillan’s touch is perso