Ideas
I have been reading this summer about the refugee crisis in the Meditarranean, and how boats carrying migrants often go lost at sea. I thought about our relationship to the ocean and how easy it is forget what a fraught place the outer boundaries of civilization can be for people who are not protected by borders. I thought about how children at the beach will hold seashells up to their ears to hear the ocean. So I wanted to make a seashell that carried the stories of the migrants at or lost at sea. I also thought that a constructed shell would be a way for us to rethink the relations between wild and artificial when we consider nature and national borders.
Research
From my research I learned that:
- Six people died each day attempting to cross Mediterranean in 2018. Source.
- A total of 2,275 people went missing crossing the Meditarranean in 2018. Source. Over 700 died in the first half of 2019 Source.
- Traveling by sea over the Mediterranean is often considered the most treacherous route, and was taken by many feeling conflict in Syrian. Source.
- The governments of Mediterranean countries are turning the sea between them into a "wild west in which human life has lost its value and people in danger are left to fend for themselves", a UN official said. Source.
Design
For the design, I plan to mold a seashell with plaster and pour it. This would allow me to get a clean pure white or blue or black seashell (I will have to play with the color a bit). I will insert a tiny speaker connected to a circuit that connects to an interface on my phone. I will also insert a tiny light. The seashells will be displayed in a darkened room.
