Despite the pain and restriction inflicted by foot binding, Chinese women incorporated its corresponding practices into their everyday lives. Small feet and beautiful shoes were a source of pride. Crafting “lotus shoes” was both an artistic accomplishment and a communal activity. Although foot-bound women were (ideally) expected to remain within the home, many continued to perform domestic and agricultural labor. MY GRANDMOTHER’S LONG FEET is a poetic animation, rooted in visual anthropological research methodology, that explores the effects of the practice—and its decline—on women in China after the Communist Revolution.
Faye Yan Zhang is an anthropologist, artist, and director, born in Beijing, China, in 1994. She graduated from Harvard College with a Bachelor’s degree in English and Visual-Environmental Studies, was a Scholar at Peking University studying Chinese Law and Society, and a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Manchester studying Visual Anthropology. She is currently pursuing a PhD in the Media Arts and Practice department at the School of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California.
