It has long been said that art knows no boundaries. Neither does compassion.
It’s common knowledge that cities around the world often design public spaces in specific ways to keep the homeless population away. Outdoor seating in metropolises like Tokyo, Montreal, etc. have been designed in such a way to make resting comfortably for a long time impossible. In Toulouse, France, public benches were intentionally designed with arm rests so as to prevent people from lying down, leading to widespread protests by the public. All things considered, such steps do nothing to reduce the problem of homelessness around the world. All they do is shun the homeless. Tell them to stay away and not be seen.
London, one of the most beautiful cities of the world, took this practice of purposeful designing of public places up a notch. Small, sharp spikes were installed on concrete steps outside building to prevent the homeless population from sleeping in public areas.
An art collective, Spaces, Not Spikes, which was formed due to anger about public/private space inequality, decided to stage a protest to show that public spaces designed with the aim to drive people away are not okay. Condemning this act in their manifesto, they write, “nothing says “keep out” to a person more than rows of sharpened buttplugs laid out to stop people from enjoying or using public space.”
The artists reclaimed the spiked area on Curtain Road by making it comfortable. They covered it with bedding, pillows and a bookshelf filled with reading material. They left behind a note for anyone who might use the space to rest, saying, “Feel free to read these books and leave them behind for the people after you. Thank you.”
Talking about their choice of location, they write,
We chose the Curtain Road location because of its resonance with artists. Round the corner and down the road were the studios and spaces used by artists who couldn’t afford anywhere else to live and work. Now, we have spikes. Now, we’re looking at poor doors and architecture designed to keep them ‘right’ people in and the ‘wrong’ people out.
This effort by the collective garnered notice around the world. This rather impactful act of kindness got the support of British musician Ellie Goulding who gave the art collective a shout-out on Instagram.
Leah Borromeo who is a part of ‘Spaces, Not Spikes’ opened up about the impact their project has had. She said,
[The project has] definitely touched a nerve and I think it is because, as a whole, humans will still look out for each other. Capitalism and greed conditions us to look out for ourselves and negate the welfare of others, but ultimately, I think we’re actually really kind.
We at The Yellow Sparrow agree whole heartedly with the message of this project. It happens way too often that our society, as a whole, in the race for development, forget that each individual life matters. Al human beings are born equal. If we believe that only the able and well-off people should get the chance to live with dignity and that installing things like spikes to shoo the homeless people away is a good idea, then our moral compasses are really screwed.
So on this Valentines Day (and on every other day of the year as well!), take a little time out from spending it with your loved ones and help someone in need. The love for humanity should get as much credence as any other kind of love. After all, like The Beatles proclaimed all those decades ago, “All you need is love.”
