Hornsleth Village Project

The Hornsleth Village Project is a controversial conceptual art project by Danish artist Kristian von Hornsleth in which he went to the Ugandan village of Buteyongera and paid impoverished villagers to legally change their names to "Hornsleth": in exchange for consenting to have "Hornsleth" added to their identity documents, the villagers were given livestock. The project began in June of 2006.

In October 2006, Kampala officials put a stop to the project, citing ethical reasons [http://allafrica.com/stories/200610270148.html] ; by that time, 270 newly-renamed Hornsleths had each received a live pig, and another 70 had each received a live goat.

Hornsleth, who has said that he would like it if the village's name is eventually changed as well [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6157612.stm] , describes it as a straightforward business transaction, wherein he paid the villagers to participate in his project and pose for photographs.

The Ugandan Minister of Ethics, Dr. James Nsaba Buturo, has criticized Hornsleth as being mentally deranged, demeaning, racist, obscene, a cult leader, and a homosexual, and has stated that official diplomatic measures will be taken [http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/532458] . Nsaba Buturo also protested Hornsleth's use of the Ugandan national flag and the crested crane (Uganda's national bird) on the invitation cards to Hornsleth's photo exhibition in Copenhagen, titled "We Can Help You, But We Want To Own You".

External links

* [http://www.hornsleth.com/ Hornsleth Village Project] - official site, includes photographs of newly-renamed Hornsleths with identity documents.