Lives in Transit I & II (2024)

Lives in Transit is an artistic research project that focuses on the Mediterranean and European irregular migratory routes, where thousands of people die, go missing, or survive each year. Using data from 2023, the project transforms statistical information into a visualization that restores individuality to each life, rather than reducing them to abstract figures.

The installation consisted of a five-meter-long wall, where each occurrence of the words died, missing, and survived represented a single person. These words were stamped manually, one by one, making the process both physical and repetitive. This act of labor highlighted the weight of each life and gave space to every individual, creating an intimate yet overwhelming presence of loss and survival.

Next to the wall, a timeline-like display provided detailed contextual information: the exact date of each incident, the location, the cause of the accident, and the number of people involved. Through this dual structure, the project enabled viewers to reflect on the tragedy in both collective and personal dimensions. By connecting the events to specific days, audiences were invited to compare these occurrences with their own lived realities, fostering a deeper sense of empathy and understanding.

Lives in Transit explores how affective and human-centered visualizations of real data can challenge distant or impersonal representations of migration. By combining manual repetition with statistical precision, the project highlights both the fragility and the resilience of human life in transit.

I. LUCA School of Arts (2024)

The work was first presented at LUCA School of Arts – Schaerbeek, as part of my Bachelor thesis, where it remains installed as a permanent piece within the school.

II. FOMU - Nightwatch (2025)

Later, the project was selected for Nightwatch at FOMU, an initiative that invited young artists to take over the museum for a weekend. For this presentation, the piece was re-created using data from 2024, demonstrating that the work does not have a fixed or static form, but rather remains adaptable and responsive to time and context. This adaptability allowed the project to reach a broader public audience while maintaining its critical and emotional impact.

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