Eagle-eyed commuters are in store for shock at Piccadilly Station, where an ‘unaffordable vending machine’ has been installed to highlight what the UN describes as the “world’s worst” humanitarian crisis, in Yemen. Reflecting their escalating food prices, the installation aims to bring attention to the 10 million people currently suffering from extreme hunger, a consequence of the ongoing conflict which has thrust nation into an economic tailspin. Blending into its surroundings, the vending machine is stocked with common but unaffordable products, all slapped with highly inflated price tags to reflect Yemen’s financial situation, challenging the presumptions of individuals who interact with it. The intervention is held ahead of the opening of new exhibition Yemen: Inside a Crisis at IWM North, running from 17 May – 26 Jan 2020. The exhibition will be the UK’s first to address Yemen’s on-going conflict and humanitarian crisis, which has left an around 80% of the country’s men, women and children in dire need of help. Attendees can explore objects and photographs exclusively sourced from Yemen to highlight the current crisis.
Thu 9 May, Piccadilly Station, M60 7RA, Tel: 020 7091 3039, 8am-2pm, www.iwm.org.uk
- Words:
- Rich Holmes
- Published on:
- Tue 9 Apr 2019
