Buy the World
W. T. Falscher · Participatory online artwork
Countries become symbolic purchases on an online world map. Buyers receive a link, not territory, and take part in W. T. Falscher’s examination of possession and power.
Press release
Buy the World: W. T. Falscher puts countries up for symbolic sale
An online artwork turns the desire to own the world into a contribution towards hunger relief
In Buy the World, Swiss conceptual artist W. T. Falscher offers countries for sale on an online world map. The transaction changes no borders and transfers no territory. A buyer acquires a link from a selected country on the map to a website of their choice, becoming a participant in the artwork.
The project responds to a political moment in which acquiring sovereign territory has returned to public discussion. Falscher translates the language of possession into an internet transaction. A country becomes a selectable item, a price and a link. The distance between the scale of the claim and the modest digital entitlement is part of the work.
Prices are derived from estimates of national gross domestic product. Economic size becomes the organising principle of the map’s symbolic marketplace. The Andorra listing, for example, was priced at USD 3.70 when checked on 27 October 2026; prices and availability should be consulted on the project website.
The purchase also serves a practical purpose. Proceeds after deduction of costs are intended to be donated to aid organisations working against hunger, with a particular focus on children. Recipient organisations have not yet been specified. This is a commitment concerning the use of proceeds, not a claim that particular donations have already been made.
The project’s minimum online-presence period runs for ten years from 2025. It is a shared project period, not a new ten-year term beginning with each purchase. Buyers obtain no rights in any real country, and the symbolic countries and their links cannot be traded or resold. Destination websites are subject to the project’s content rules.
Buy the World brings acquisition and assistance into the same gesture. The invitation to possess a piece of the world leads to a deliberately limited form of ownership, while the proceeds are directed towards needs that cannot be met by symbolic possession alone.
The artwork can be experienced at buythe.world. Countries are selected through its online shop.
About W. T. Falscher
W. T. Falscher is a Swiss conceptual artist whose practice includes works on paper, readymades and net art. He does not make public appearances. Raphael Dudler represents the artist publicly through The Ministry of Good Taste.
Press contact
Raphael Dudler
The Ministry of Good Taste
contact@ministryofgoodtaste.com
Ministry website · Artist website
| Artist | W. T. Falscher |
|---|---|
| Title | Buy the World / buythe.world |
| Medium | Participatory online artwork / net art |
| Location | buythe.world |
| Participation | Purchase a link associated with an available country on the project’s world map |
| Real-world territory | No land, sovereignty or rights in a real country are transferred |
| Pricing | Derived from GDP estimates; prices are listed in USD in the shop |
| Minimum online period | Ten years from 2025 for the project, not from each purchase |
| Resale | Symbolic countries and links cannot be traded or resold |
| Use of proceeds | After deduction of costs, intended for aid organisations fighting hunger, particularly affecting children; recipients not yet specified |
Press materials
For press images, screen recordings, captions, credits and reproduction permissions, contact Raphael Dudler.
Background
The project connects its symbolic sale of countries to a contemporary political context of territorial acquisition. Its map is an artistic setting, not a registry of land ownership. The hunger-relief purpose concerns the use of proceeds after costs and does not change the limited scope of what a buyer acquires.