Apart from the human cost, land mines destabilize economic prospects. They have a paralyzing effect on communities, contaminating fertile fields, cutting off access to markets, schools, and water supplies, and holding people hostage in their own villages or displacing them from their homes. Several nongovernmental organizations are focused on disarming these weapons in order to allow affected communities to return to life without fear. The Spider Boot, raised on a platform, provides enough distance from a detonating mine to deflect shrapnel away from the body. The boot also incorporates self-sacrificing materials, such as aluminum honeycomb encased in a V-shaped steel container on the underside of the platform to absorb the impact of the detonation.
Gallery label from Contemporary Galleries: 1980-Now, November 17, 2011-February 17, 2014.
