‘Buy a homeless’ project participants explain why they’re happy to be ‘sold’
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Is it really as controversial as it sounds?
By Sarah Ann Harris and Eve Hartley
Selling homeless people and fitting them with tracking devices sounds pretty controversial. So when I find myself walking into an old courtroom (now a function room in a Covent Garden restaurant) where the ‘sale’ of two rough sleepers is being announced, I have a lot of questions.
The room is empty save for the artist himself, a PR and a burly security guard. It’s awkward – no one really seems sure of the correct social protocol for such an event. At last, the homeless people troop in and proceedings commence.
This is the Hornsleth Homeless Tracker project.
Kristian von Hornsleth, a Danish artist, is facilitating the ‘sale’ of 10 homeless people. The group will be ‘purchased’ by buyers and given tracking devices. Their ‘owners’ will then have access to an exclusive app where they can track them wherever they go. Hornsleth describes it as being like a “real life Tamagotchi”. The buyers will also receive a...
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