EXHIBITION: LIVES AFLOAT
PROJECT: Exhibition Design
CLIENT: National Hellenic Museum (NHM)
ABOUT: Lives Afloat is a photographic exhibition that explored the realities faced by refugees arriving in Greece during the height of the refugee crisis through the perspective of Greek photographer, Tasos Markou. The exhibition is loosely divided into three sections: ARRIVALS, looking at the dangerous conditions of sea crossings, WAITING, describing the living conditions in refugee camps, and BORDERS, exploring the metaphorical and physical barriers encountered.
I was brought into the exhibition team with only 3 months till the opening date and was given the opportunity to really drive the direction of the exhibition. While designing this exhibition, I faced many challenges: an extremely tight timeline and small budget, a sensitive subject matter, and the requirement that the exhibition be completely moveable within minutes (the exhibition was displayed in a room that was also used as an event rental).
I created the overall theme of presenting the photographs with infographics and quotes in order to add more depth to the imagery, determined the visual identity of the exhibition, and guided the process of selection for images, quotes, and data for the exhibition. After the exhibition team decided to break the material into three sections, Arrivals, Waiting, and Borders, I created the visual language that separated each section. As the only designer on the project, I also created the logo and all branding materials for the exhibition and its opening event.
The designs, above, were used to separate the different sections of the exhibition. The orange fence (BORDERS), burgundy Xs (WAITING) or blue wave (ARRIVALS) motifs were placed on panels to show which section they belonged to. As seen on the panel mock-up (right), individual colors were used in the section’s infographics, as a border on each wall and on other design elements.
Infographics were used throughout the exhibit to deepen the understanding of what each photograph represented.
CrossRoads, a mini exhibit within the exhibition, featured photographs taken by refugees and Greek and Turkish volunteers. The collaborative works came from a project created by photographer Tasos Markou and associate Lois Simac who taught the group photography basics over a five month period in an effort to use the art form as a method of finding common ground and self expression.
Selected CrossRoads Images