Refugee Slush Ice Bar

A cold drink, served across a sea of people with nowhere to go.

Refugee Slush Ice Bar is an installation built around a simple transaction. A bartender serves slush from a private island, passing each drink across a sea filled with miniature refugees.

Visitors can steer remote-controlled boats among the refugees. They may choose to pick someone up—or simply continue playing and drinking their slush.

The installation reflects a world in which comfortable transactions continue across borders while human crises unfold directly beneath them.

What a mess. Just like the rest of the world.

Created by JAM PUBLIC and presented at the Arts in Context Symposium, 8–10 June 2022, at the University of Agder, Norway.