Be sure to take your bags with you

Monday, 11th May 2009

Unclaimed luggage is a big problem at London’s Heathrow Airport. According to a recent report, more than 32 million bags were either delayed, stolen or damaged whilst in transit during 2008. Of these, around 736,000 are still reported as missing.

When people fail to claim their baggage, the lost luggage just piles up and up, and in a busy airport like Heathrow that can cause big problems.

However, when London artist Luna Laboo watched a news story about Heathrow’s mounting lost luggage, she was struck with a brainwave. Why not purchase the luggage and photograph it? After all, looking through the luggage of others is the ultimate social taboo, something most of us wouldn’t usually dream of doing.

Laboo was surprised and fascinated by the unusual items that many people had decided to pack for their travels, which ranged from kinky nurse’s uniforms to bizarrely mismatched socks. The bags were stripped of all personal items that may possibly be used to identify the owners before being released to the artist.

Luna Laboo then decided to photograph the luggage and post it in a website, isthisyourluggage, so that people might be able to claim their luggage. Although most of it still remains untaken, it serves as an interesting account of the weird and wonderful things people take with them on holiday.

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