Students make a giant chessboard from refugees' life jackets on Greek island
University students on the Greek island of Lesbos, which saw an unprecedented influx of refugees from Turkey last year, have created a giant chessboard made from discarded academic papers and refugee life jackets.
The outdoor art installation in Mytilene, conceived by artist and member of University of Aegean Fereniki Tsamparli, features 1.2 m tall chess pieces which were built over two months by more than 40 volunteers, students, civil workers and professors.
Each chess piece is formed by paper used by the students and destined to the landfill, and life jackets left behind by the hundreds of thousands of refugees who arrived on the shores of Lesbos, seeking for a new life.
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More than 80 layers of plastic from inside the life vests were added one by one for each chess piece. Even kids from local families took part in the project.
"Using this material to play chess has a metaphoric reason, which is talking about the game of life of these desperate people coming to our shores," Michael Bakas, member of the University committee, told Mashable.
"The university is just 50 m from the beach and every day of last year we saw refugees arriving," he said."That triggered solidarity among our students and all the people working here."
"It's an historical moment we are witnessing. Over the last year, the region has seen one of the greatest migrations of humankind."
The project was presented to the public on June 6 for World Environment Day.
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