According to recent research, 1 in 7 people have fantasized about feet in a sexual way at least once in their lives. Prominent researcher Wilder Penfield, who established the "body image map" in the 1950s, explains that the sensory perception for our feet is located directly adjacent to the sensory perception area for our genitalia - which can explain the sexual fascination many people experience with feet.
Quentin Tarantino
This worship for the foot (podophilia) is also.not strange to artists who have incorporated this either explicitly or subtly in their work since ancient times. Notable examples are Degas' Woman Drying Her Foot (1885/86): and Picasso's Old Guitarist from 1903. One of the most famous foot fetishists in recent times is probably the filmmaker Quentin Tarantino whose films are infused with feet (Fig.1).
Fig.1. Margot Robbie in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
Tania B.
Recently we were approached by the Spanish interior/ creative designer David Zuker who drew our attention to his unique erotic outing called 'Tania B.', a series of giclée prints completely dedicated to foot fetish (fig.2 to 29). Below you will find the thoughts behind this project in the artist's own words...
"Tania B is an experimental erotic art project focused on female foot and stocking fetishism.
Through a Pop Art visual style, I explore without prejudice or limits one of the most widespread fetishes in today’s society. This journey through a world that, despite its prevalence, still maintains an enigmatic and transgressive halo around it, aims to be more than a simple testimonial tour. I seek to fully immerse myself in the origins of the desire and lasciviousness that female feet give off in order to take them to the terrain of the deepest artistic idealisation.
Fig.2. Martha
Fig.3. Oops... I did it again
Subtle Eroticism
From the most innocent scenes to those depicting explicit sex, my vision of an elegant and idealised foot fetishism tries to go beyond the obvious to develop a subtle eroticism in which the viewer must complete each work with his or her own imagination.
My sensibility, impregnated in the soul of each work, seeks to establish an intimate dialogue with the viewer through which a new paradigm can be constructed, a new language with which to rewrite fetish eroticism through an innovative prism.
Fig.4. Vanilla Dream
Fig.5. Subtle Exhibitionist
Imaginary Character
Tania-B is not only the name of this project, but also an imaginary character that would represent my feminine side. One of the hallmarks of this project is the exploration of foot fetishism from a perspective far from the traditional heterosexual and masculine visions.
As a man, I don’t try to define how the female vision of foot fetishism should be. On the contrary, I try to put myself in the shoes of a woman, channeling this fetishism through a lens of feminine sensibility that, in my opinion, is more interesting than the typical male point of view." (text by David Zuker)
Fig.6. New Experiences
