Jani Leinonen with one of the “customers”
Upon closer inspection, the scene became even more surreal; the place, called “Hunger King”, was offering a menu of social policies, with separate entries for the rich and the poor. This was the opening of Finnish artist Jani Leinonen’s pop-up installation, which aims to reflect on the unfavourable situation of the homeless in Hungary.
The venue of the exhibition is Luukku Atelier, run by the Finnish Institute in Hungary, transformed into a fast-food restaurant for the occasion. The masterfully executed concept carries a message in every small detail.
Leading up to the door is a red carpet, only for the rich; according to the banderoles on its sides, they are queuing for “tax decreases”, ”generous family benefits” and “high quality schooling”, among other benefits, which they can all expect to get from the Hungarian government. For the poor, it is quite the opposite; “meagre housing allowance”, ”inadequate support for low-income families” and the ‘”lack of protection against evictions” are parts of their list.
To increase the power of the installation, each day, the first twenty visitors in the “poor” queue receive HUF 3,400, the equivalent of the daily minimum wage. The money comes in a burger box, which can be accompanied inside by a glass of soda from the “Capitalism” machine. While the place does not offer any real food or drinks, the volunteers working in the counter give out cardboard burgers to illustrate the aforementioned policies that the government can offer to the people, depending on their financial situation.
According to Leinonen’s statement, hung on the wall among the framed pieces of paper displaying sentences typically heard from street beggars, his main inspiration for bringing his installation to Hungary was a statement made by Máté Kocsis, the mayor of District VIII, and the sad reality behind it. “If we don’t push homeless people out, we will end up being pushed out by them,” said Kocsis, demonstrating the ruling of the city council outlawing “habitual living” in public spaces.
According to government officials, the law passed last autumn seeks to protect “public order, security, health and cultural value”, while Leinonen and many other opponents describe it as the criminalisation of homelessness. More generally, he also aims to draw attention to the more than one million people in the country who live below the poverty line, as a result of the struggling economy, which is “today in a worse state than it was during state socialism”.
“Eat this, government!”
While his critics attack him for condemning Hungary’s social problems as a Finnish person (according to the project’s Twitter page, a police officer asked him to “take these bums to Finland” if he cares so much), Leinonen claims that his message is universal and the Hungarian situation depicts a global problem. In his view, Hunger King’s mission is to promote social and political engagement, and stand up against the political and economical elite’s demonisation of a group of people who don’t have the power to protect themselves.
Others argue that the giving out of real money, which led to conflicts and often physical fights in the queue, was a distasteful idea, only further contributing to the dehumanisation of homeless people that the artist aims to stand against. What is certain, however, is that the installation introduces a thought-provoking and novel way of making a political statement. Whether visitors agree with its message, they will surely have a strong opinion about the question after visiting the exhibition, on display until 6 July.
Hunger King
Hunger King
Luukku Atelier
Hajós utca 12, District VI
Now until 6 July, 11am-7pm
https://www.facebook.com/LuukkuAtelier
