Refugees as art in Spitalfields
A wooden boat that once raced across the waves stands frozen in time carrying passengers who never arrive.
This is, the self-evident, Wooden Boat with Seven People by the Greek-born sculptor, painter, and filmmaker Kalliopi Lemos. Part of her series, ‘Navigating the Dark’, this boat was used to transport refugees from Turkey to Greece and was acquired by the artist after being abandoned on the Greek shore.
The bodies are made from wire frames that have been infilled with more wire mesh to give them a solidity and allow their faces to display textures of emotions as they seek a better life.
The installation has been situated at this location to make a direct reference to the successive waves of migrants who have arrived in Spitalfields through the centuries.
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