Solid Sea

Solid Sea results from a research project about recent changes in the Mediterranean region and focuses on flows of immigration that take place there. The installation is a reconstruction of a shipwreck that took place on Christmas Eve 1996 between Sicily and Malta. 280 passengers, from Pakistan and Sri Lanka, died in the accident. For a long time, the authorities kept the shipwreck secret, while fishermen from the village of Portopalo fished up one body after another from the sea. It was only thanks to the efforts of the journalist Giovanni Maria Bellu of the daily La Repubblica that the truth finally emerged. Based on interviews, statistics and maps, the events are reconstructed. The installation was made by the Milan-based team Multiplicity, made up of architects, geographers, artists, planners, photographers, sociologists, economists and film makers. Multiplicity investigates recent and hidden transformation processes in the urban environment. They organise workshops, publish books and make multimedia installations.