These shoes print banned books as you walk - to honor the freedom of thought
The access to information and the right to free opinions are things we can not take for granted. Some governments and interest groups go as far as banning books. To honor the freedom of thought, the book app Nextory now releases a collection of unexpected shoes. Shoes that print quotes from some of the most banned books in the world as you walk.
Nextory is now launching a collection of 3D shoes that is possible to print out via 3D printer and actually use. The shoes have quotes from books that have been banned throughout history engraved on the soles. Whoever wears these shoes will be able to print quotes on the ground as they walk, for example in clay, soil or sand. Meanwhile, spreading the stories and sending the message that words are impossible to stop.
The first shoe
The first shoe that now has been released in the collection has quotes from George Orwell’s book 1984, which is one of the most banned books in the world. The novel is an allusion to dictatorship about how a state controls information and manipulates citizens to peddle the regime’s propaganda. A message more relevant than ever.
– Book banning is when books are removed from for example libraries, school reading lists, or bookstores because someone objects to their content, ideas, or themes. Something I’ve experienced myself with a background from growing up in a dictatorship in Syria. It’s the direct opposite of our mission and what we’re doing at Nextory. I founded Nextory to give as many people as possible unlimited access to different stories, perspectives and opinions. By releasing these pairs of shoes, we want to highlight that fact and leave a mark to honor the freedom of thought, says Shadi Bitar, CEO and Founder at Nextory.
To make the shoe widely available, the 3D-files are accessible on a website as open sources for anyone to download, print and use. This way anyone can leave a mark and spread the story wherever they are. Here you can download the shoe and read more about the project: leaveamark.nextory.com
Quote 1: “The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became the truth.”
Quote 2: “Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.”
Read or listen to 1984 by George Orwell here: https://www.nextory.se/bok/1984-11637671/
CREDITS:
OKTO:
Art Director: Ellinor Ekström Goldstein
Designer: Richard Hedberg
Junior Designer: Elin Börszei
Project Lead: Astrid Wassén
Copywriter: Emma Kirsch
Creative Director: Nick Christiansen
Nextory:
CMO - Elin Bäckman
Product Designer - David Bredenberg
Partnership Representative - Karolina Bjernefalk
Project Manager - Carolina Laurén
Press Office
+46 722-53 70 41
press@nextory.com
Nextory is one of Europe's largest streaming services for audiobooks and e-books. The app was founded in 2015 by the serial entrepreneurs Shadi Bitar and Ninos Malki. Since then, the company has developed into a fast-growing platform that enables unlimited distribution of stories and knowledge in various digital formats. Together with the subscribers, Nextory shares a great passion for literature of all kinds and strives to be an independent and natural place where everyone can easily find their next stories. This goes hand in hand with the vision to increase reading around the world to enrich people's lives and thereby contribute to increased well-being, personal development and strengthened democracy. Today, Nextory's catalog contains over 1 million titles and the app is available in ten markets around Europe, with headquarters in Stockholm. Read more at www.nextory.com.
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