199 Unknown is a multimedia video exploring the erasure and invisibility of migration. Shot on the Greek island of Lesvos in November 2024, its title refers to the 199 graves in the refugee cemetery of Kato Tritos, most marked simply as “UNKNOWN.”
Hidden among olive groves 15 km from Mytilene, the cemetery remained an unmarked field of stones and sticks until 2024. Recently restored by a local NGO, it now stands as a stark reminder of the unacknowledged loss of life along these routes.
Set to the rhythm of the Synaxis Day parade, the work weaves together three visual layers: the cemetery itself; the traces left along Lesvos’ north-eastern shores—abandoned rafts, life vests, clothes; and the island’s contested spaces, from restricted camps like Kara Tepe to the ruins of Moria and the planned Vastria center.
The parade—shifting from children’s march to a display of military power—mirrors a passage from innocence to authority. Within this rhythm, 199 Unknown reflects the ongoing movement of society over migrants’ memories, turning absence into a form of collective amnesia and calling into question what we choose not to see.