Louis Sidoli

Released in March 1983, David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” became his most commercially successful single, topping charts around the world. Filmed in Australia, the accompanying music video carried a deeper social message, highlighting the inequalities faced by Aboriginal Australians.

This artwork captures both the energy of the record and the significance of its narrative. At its centre, a striking pair of neon red shoes dominates the composition, directly referencing the song’s lyrics while symbolising the tension between consumer culture and the hardships experienced by Aboriginal communities. The shoes also evoke the classic film The Red Shoes, adding another layer of cultural reference.

Set against the outline of Australia, the piece pays tribute to Carinda, the small New South Wales town where the video was filmed, grounding the work in the landscape that shaped its story.

Throughout the composition, Andy Warhol references are subtly woven into the imagery. The screen-printed red shoes on aluminium recall Warhol’s celebrated Halston shoe series from the early 1980s, while the inclusion of a vintage dance manual teaching viewers how to “Dance The Blues” nods to his early 1960s graphic works.