These naval boots represent the urge on the part of the artist to expose herself to different, rather unconventional and perhaps even uncomfortable environments. These were the shoes worn during her time with the Glasgow University Royal Naval Unit, where training took place on the gym floor at the base. The toes were polished until they were almost impossibly shiny - the kind of shine that could be checked at a glance. Beneath that immaculate surface was the rather less glamorous reality of hours of marching, discipline and tired feet.