In february 2013 Gallery Slott in Paris will present the designer Massoud Hassani for his first solo exhibition with his project Mine Kafon.
Born in 1983 in Kaboul, Afghanistan, Massoud Hassani recently graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven in Holland.
As a child Massoud made his own toys playing in the windy desert. Like for many kids in his hometown, the playground run alongside the horrors of explosives and landmines. In Afghanistan there are more landmines in the ground than there are people walking on it.
The project now in the making grew out of Massoud’s child experience in a country of war. Mine Kafon is a two-metre high deminer engine that rolls on the ground, made of metal, bamboo and biodegradable plastics. Its goal is to eliminate mines and non-exploded ammunitions hidden in the ground so that the population can walk safely. This sculptural beast moves with the only power of the wind rolling on its ‘feet’ mounted on spring suspensions. In contact with a mine in the ground Mine Kafon explodes, looses some ‘legs’ but continues to roll. Equipped with a GPS system in its metallic centre, the genius apparatus permits to locate the contaminated regions.
Mine Kafon is currently being tested by the Dutch Army. The project has won much attention, like its nomination to Design of the Year 2012 in London and the recent acquisition of the object by MOMA in New York.
Part of the proceeds from the sales of the object Mine Kafon and the catalogue will be donated to an NGO invested in assisting and helping victims of land mines in Afghanistan.
Exhibition: Mine Kafon
From January 30 2013 to February 23 2013
Exquise Design * Galerie Slott, Paris, France
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