5715

Produced in collaboration with Aileen Drohan for Glitch Festival 2016. According to the Department of the Environment there were 5,715 homeless people in Ireland in January 2016. 1,830 of them were children. Many have been forced into emergency accommodation due to soaring rental prices, locking them into a cycle of increasing poverty. Rents are projected to rise a further 12% this year, placing an even greater number of families and individuals at risk. In many places across the country, availability is minimal and stock is priced far above the maximum limits set for Rent Supplement payments. 5715 uses Arduino and piezo disks to track this risk. As piezos are extremely fragile, the piece reflects the precarious and unstable nature of housing. Special thanks are due to Cheryl Harding and Jeffrey Roe for their help in construction.