FOOTWEAR DIY

FOOTWEAR

SHOE SHINE

Make Cinderella jealous. By Norene Leddy and

Ed Bringas, with Andrew Milmoe and Melissa Gira

Platforms, the latest series of work in the ongoing Aphrodite Project ( theaphroditeproject.tv), is a social sculpture: an interactive, wearable device that is a conceptual homage to the cult of the Greek goddess, as well as a practical object and a vehicle for public dialogue.

An integrated system of shoes and online services, Platforms draws on the innovations of the courtesans of antiquity to improve the conditions of 21st-cen- tury women who, despite advances in culture and technology, are still vulnerable to surveillance and violence. Platforms empowers all women with tools they can make to stay safe.

While we designed the shoes with women’s safety in mind, they’re also intended as a vehicle for self-expression. The video shoe is essentially a portable media player (PMP) placed in a platform shoe, and

148 Make: Volume 12

can be configured to show whatever movies, images, or messages you put on it. The other shoe has a 120dB siren, for when you feel like sounding the alarm.

2. Prepare the shoes. 2a. Trace the outlines of the balsa wood blocks on the outside of the heels, centering so at least ¼" of the heel is intact on all sides (Figure A). Using an

Photography by Norene Leddy and Ed Bringas

1. Make balsa templates for
the electronics.
1a. Make a balsa wood block the size of your PMP
plus 1" on the face and 5" on all other sides.
1b. Unscrew the alarm casing and remove the piezo
speaker and circuit. Make a balsa block the size of
the circuit and speaker with the 9V battery and snap
connector, plus 5" of wiggle room on all sides.