Nestled on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the French port city of Marseille has been the canvas of artist Mahn Kloix since 2010. Among his extensive oeuvre of social activism, Kloix uses this cosmopolitan urban center as a departure point to explore the political challenges facing the Mediterranean basin. Refugees fleeing violence and persecution from Northern Africa and the Middle East often take the deadly Mediterranean route in search of asylum in states like Italy, Greece, Spain, and France. Kloix’s public-facing work seeks to bring these narratives to the forefront of our collective social consciousness.

Kloix’s justice-oriented art explores what French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu calls international “contre-feu” (backfire or using fire as defense)—the “whistle-blowers, refugees, activists within humanitarian organizations, Femen [a feminist protest group].” He primarily does this through large fresco murals in various public settings in France. One of Kloix’s series, “Fragments de Voyages” (Fragments of Journeys), is a collection of works that engage the complex struggles of the refugee and migrant experience, particularly for women and children. In partnership with SOS Méditerranée, an international humanitarian organization dedicated to maritime search-and-rescue in the Mediterranean, Kloix’s 15th installation in the series depicts a refugee family handing their child off to a crew member. Fleeing war and torture, many refugees attempt to cross the sea from Libya and Tunisia to reach Northern Europe, even though it is incredibly risky due to overcrowded and unseaworthy boats. They face the threat of capsizing, dehydration, and a host of medical ailments. The Mediterranean Sea has been described by UNICEF as a “cemetery for children and their futures.” In 2023, more than 2,500 have died or gone missing during this harrowing journey. The distressing image of parent and child being separated at sea tugs at the heartstrings of viewers, inviting a grave reflection of the disturbing realities of migration to Europe.

The sixth installation in the series, erected on the International Day of Peace at the Col de l’Échelle, depicts a migrant couple embracing each other. The woman is wrapped in a contrasting yellow survival blanket, calling attention to her figure and drawing attention to the importance of including female representation in narratives surrounding refugees. Media discourse on refugees is often dominated by images of young men, relegating women to the invisible margins. The deliberate choice to frame the exhibition in the mountains of the Col de L’Échelle also underscores the fact that this dangerous passageway between France and Italy is traversed by refugees from Africa and the Middle East. Standing alone, almost as if it were part of the mountains, the piece is striking for the audience and accentuates the geographic significance of this locale for refugees.