When it comes to sneakers, most of us like to keep our pairs as pristine as possible. Not Rudy Lim, however. Rudy, who is better known online as Rudyindahouse, takes great delight in destroying some of the world’s most desirable kicks within moments of taking them out of the box. Thankfully, Rudy’s destruction is always done with an emphasis on education and appreciation. He intricately disassembles each and every pair, transforming them into beautifully constructed sculptures that show off exactly what makes up the sneakers we all love. Curious to know more about Rudy’s creative process, we reached out to the South Korean native for the lowdown.
Rudyindahouse
Chatting with Rudyindahouse
Matt Williams (M.W.) – Hey Rudy, thanks for chatting with us! How’s things in South Korea?
Rudy Lim (R.L) – You’re welcome! Thank you so much for this opportunity. Life has been crazy since my career as a artist has really started to take off. The sneaker scene here is getting bigger every day and, so, people are doing things with sneakers more and more. There is a massive sneaker convention here, called Sneaker House, which is now in its fourth year. I hope to continue contributing to this growing scene in a big way.
M.W. – We love your creations! What inspired you to start deconstructing sneakers?
R.L. – A friend of mine, Coolrane, is a very talented action figure customiser here in Korea. His figures are in the six-inch scale and are always dressed in tiny shoes to scale. They are barely five centimetres long. I had heard that the shoes were made of almost exactly the same materials as the real deal, which made me curious. I took them apart and compared them to my own sneakers and was surprised by how similar they truly were. I figured that a lot of other people out there must have the same level of curiosity and would want to see exactly what makes up their favourite sneakers. I figured that transforming them into these sorts of suspended sculptures was a stylish way to convey this, and it just took off from there.
M.W. – Were you always interested in deconstruction?
R.L. – No, I honestly didn’t care for it at all. I wasn’t an artist originally, so the idea of reconstruction for the sake of creating art wasn’t something that I had even considered.
M.W. – You really exploded on the scene with your deconstruction of the ‘Wotherspoon’ Air Max 1/97s. Do you know if he ever saw them and, if so, what was his response?
R.L. – The ‘Wotherspoon’ piece really helped to get my name, and artwork, out there. I got a lot of coverage from it, including on Sean Wotherspoon’s own Instagram account. He even mentioned it in an interview and said how much he loved it. This made me so happy. If I have a chance to meet him one day, I would be honoured to show it to him in person.
I printed some t-shirts with the Wotherspoon design and sent some to Round Two LA, after finding the address on Google. I don’t know if they got them or not, though. If you’re reading this, Sean, let me know!
M.W. – What do you look for in a sneaker when creating your pieces?
R.L. – There is no set criteria I look to when selecting shoes to work on. The funny thing is that, when I look at sneakers nowadays, I immediately imagine how they will disintegrate. It’s so funny. Of course, the shoes I tear apart are normally pairs that I really want to wear. I am interested in limited edition and unique products, but I can’t resist tearing them apart if I know they will disintegrate well. The Nike x SACAI Waffles and Blazers are a recent example. As soon as I first saw images of them, last year, I knew I wanted to dissect their two-layer designs. Fortunately, I got lucky with the raffles, and the final works got an overwhelmingly positive response. I will admit, though, that 90s designs are probably the best to work with.
M.W. – Can you take us through the process in constructing one of your works?
R.L. – It’s a bit hard to explain. Of course, I start by taking the shoes apart, piece by piece, until they are completely torn apart. Then, using a combination of wire and hot glue, I pose each element dynamically and bring it all together into an expanded form. It’s simple in theory, but the actual process is not. [Laughs]
M.W. – How long does the whole process take, from start to finish?
R.L. – Each 3D sculpture takes about three to four days to create, while my flat deconstructions take about two days each. Of course, there are slight difference between each and every shoe, but I wouldn’t describe any of it as easy.
M.W. – What’s the most interesting thing you’ve discovered through dissecting sneakers?
R.L. – Every shoe I’ve taken apart has turned out to be constructed significantly different than I had imagined. What’s even more amazing is that everything has actually turned out to be better made than expected. I am always excited to start a new project and discover what’s inside.
M.W. – What sneaker are you most looking forward to dissecting in the future?
R.L. – There are so many projects I want to do! One I have in mind is to dissect every single Jordan model from the Air Jordan 1 up. I would do it using only OG colours, but some are particularly hard to get a hold of or are prohibitively expensive, so it would be quite a difficult project to attempt. I also really want to do something in tribute to – or out of respect for – music artists. For example, I would like to work on the SBs that Nike released last year that were inspired by the Notorius B.I.G. and Tupac. I’ve been heavily influenced by music artists in my life.
M.W. – Lastly, what are you plans for the future?
R.L. – I think the most important thing is to just keep going. I think it’s more important to prepare for the near future than for the distant future. My main goal in life is to just keep doing what I do and hopefully work on projects with Nike Global one day. It makes me excited just to think about it. Oh, and putting on more overseas exhibitions is another one of my goals!
M.W. – One in Spain, perhaps?
R.L. – I hope to visit the Foot District team in person soon, so we’ll see what happens!
Be sure to head to Rudy’s Instagram account to see more of his work and to keep up to date with his latest creations.