09/12/2004

Artist Michael Rakowitz’ paraSITE reclaims urban spaces on behalf of homeless people by exploiting existing public architecture. Exterior ventilation systems are used to inflate and supply warmth to easily transportable sleeping structures. The objects simultaneously meet a practical need of providing shelter and act as a visible form of protest against the “homeless-proofing” of cities:

While these shelters were being used, they functioned not only as a temporary place of retreat, but also as a station of dissent and empowerment; many of the homeless users regarded their shelters as a protest device, and would even shout slogans like “We beat you Uncle Sam!” The shelters communicated a refusal to surrender, and made more visible the unacceptable circumstances of homeless life within the city.

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