Finnish artist Jani Leinonen, who “executed” a Ronald McDonald statue in 2011, took on Hungary’s anti-homeless legislation by opening a fake fast food restaurant in Budapest, pointedly branded as “Hunger King.” With lines set up to separate the “POOR” and the “RICH,” the artist served fake but authentic-looking parody Burger King packages, complete with a Capitalism “coke” to homeless people. Instead of a burger, the burger box was full of money.
Currently, the homeless are punished for using “public space as a habitual dwelling.” Part of the artist’s intent was to demonstratively attack that particular law through a loophole for three weeks. “If a company opens a new shop in town, customers are naturally allowed to overnight and queue on the street to get the new product,” he explained. “By setting out the Hunger King and giving out our products, we enable homeless people to camp there without being taken away or punished. Looks like capitalism has more generous rules than humanism has.”
