Underground markets are not only a fascinating anthropological study in and of themselves, but they comprise a serious subsect of the actual economy. According to Buehn et al., underground or “shadow” markets make up about 1/6 of the estimated world GDP. What is being sold and where is it being sold?
These illegal centers of commerce speak to many of humanity’s honest demands, however disturbing they may be. Their existence serves to highlight our ability to commodify almost anything in this world.
The Black Market Vending Machine is attempt to highlight the absurd and disturbing nature of commodification around the world.
I chose to use Havocscope for my information as opposed to live underground market sites (like the Silk Road) 1) for ease of access to information and 2) it provided an interesting data set since it has specifically cited incidents in various countries. It became apparent, while sifting through the information, that comparing the prices of things in different countries contributed to the disturbing nature of the underground market.
Using javascript (p5.js) I created an interactive, vending machine interface. When the user scrolls over the typical item, a black market item takes its place. Once a user selects the item, a list of selling countries appears. Each country has a unique price. If the user chooses to buy an item in particular country, a link to the particular incident from which that item and price was referenced pops up.
The items sold include, AK-47s, prostitutes, fake Harvard degrees, girls, methamphetamine, tiger parts, kidneys, and hired hitman.
[Javascript]