Seahorse

Mass media's headlines no longer spotlight the vast number of deaths at the borders of Europe. The images of drowning children have dominated the media for so long that we’ve grown weary of them – they have lost their impact. While the Mediterranean Sea as the mass grave of refugees is slowly vanishing from the collective memory of European societies, those directly affected have a harder time forgetting the perilous passage to Europe. Their trauma remains but so does the appreciation of having survived. With about 2 million refugees living in Germany, these emotions enter everyday life of our society, and any situation might trigger an unexpected memory – when, for instance, the contact with water might evoke the feeling of almost drowning in the Mediterranean waters. Thus, an ordinary swimming pool becomes the site of working through the aftershocks of the refugee movement, where the overpowering memories of a life threatening voyage emerge amidst the »safe haven« of Europe. »Seahorse« directs our attention to that hidden everydayness of memory and fear.