The Washing of The Clothes

2016 – Documentation – Public Installation

The Washing of The Clothes is a fieldwork project and a public installation dedicated to the 2016 humanitarian refugee crisis in Greece.

In 2016 alone an estimated around 5,000 migrants died or went missing in the Mediterranean, while those who survived were left to live in inhuman conditions trapped in a limbo state due to the EU–Turkey agreement that effectively closed the Balkan route northward. The piece points to the harsh reality of the crisis and the governments’ failure to take adequate measures to provide a safer path and basic living conditions to families and individuals fleeing war.

Documenting the Memorials

To commemorate the crisis, I traveled to Lesbos and spent 10 days sleeping under the stars and walking along its north and east coasts, documenting the personal belongings, equipment, shipwrecks left behind on the shores.

The “Memorials,” as I call them, were the aftermath of the tragedies and hardships endured by people fleeing war in search of a better future for themselves, and their children.

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“In 2016, Greece faced a severe humanitarian crisis as the primary gateway for refugees entering Europe, with over 155,000 arrivals by mid-May. Following Western Balkan border closures and the March EU-Turkey deal, over 46,000–57,000 refugees and migrants became trapped in dire, unsanitary conditions in camps and ports”

Trapped in the EU’s new refugee camp: Greece, Amnesty International