“Beyond politics — a memory of humanity.”
International Public Art InstallationSupport Request Proposal
"If no one dares to hold these hands, the waves will swallow not only their bodies, but also our humanity."
Lost Hands Project
The sea is the silent witness of lives lost in migration.
• A universal art installation drawing attention to the losses experienced in refugee sea crossings.
• The exhibitions will be displayed along migration routes and transit points to make human solidarity visible.
• Not showing the tragedy itself, but revealing the trace of absence left behind.
• This project aims to raise international awareness.
Lost Hands makes visible the void and silence that remain after loss, using symbolic hands rising from the sea and lifebuoys floating on the surface.
The purpose of the project is to remind the world of our shared human responsibility, unity, and need for solidarity.
This installation does not tell the story of those who disappeared — it shows the weight of the space they left behind.
It makes absence visible, not the person.
A Universal Appeal to Conscience
Refugeehood is not a dream; for most children, it is the name of a forced migration.
Raising a hand in a classroom is the excitement of knowing the right answer—but for some children, raising a hand became the only way to ask for help.
No child ever dreamed of crossing the sea.
Their dream was to answer the teacher on a classroom board—not the waves, not the darkness.
No child’s game should have been hide-and-seek with the sea.
They did not start life as lucky as other children in the world.
They grew up under the same sky, but they were never given the same chance.
Lost Hands is a universal call for awareness—saying that children who did not start equal still deserve to be remembered equally.
Lost Hands is not created to document an event; it is designed to remember, to pause, and to reflect.
Why This Project?
The Aegean Sea has been a crossroads of cultures and people for centuries.
In recent years, the same sea has become a place where countless lives disappeared without leaving a trace.
Lost Hands was created not to narrate these losses, but to reveal the absence left behind.
Mission
To make visible the silence and void left behind by lives lost during sea migrations,
and to create international awareness.
Project Message
Migration is not a statistic—it is a human fracture.
This installation does not show those who were lost, but the trace that remains after they disappear.
It focuses on absence, not the pain itself.
Why Hands?
Hands carry no identity—they are universal.
They do not require language, religion, or nationality.
The absence of faces is intentional, because the aim is to make our shared humanity visible, not individual identity.
This project does not sculpt the person—it sculpts the absence of the person.
Place & Time
Although initially envisioned for the Bodrum–Kos region,
Lost Hands belongs to no single country or city.
It is a global art initiative designed to be exhibited at major migration sea routes and crossing points worldwide.
WHAT WILL BE THE IMPACT OF THIS PROJECT?
Public and Cultural Impact
• Creates a silent but powerful awareness space in public areas
• Offers a universal visual language that appeals to an international audience
• Becomes a reference project for art, human rights, and memory studies
• Enters long-term circulation through photography, video, and exhibitions
This project influences without disturbing,
reminds without letting us forget.
1. Project Scale
The project begins with a pilot installation of 24 sculptural hands.
It will cover a sea surface area of 150-200 m2.
2. Technical Specifications
• Durable, marine-grade materials suitable for sea conditions
• Average height: 120–200cm (hands)
• Lifebuoy and rope system
• Modular structure that can be fixed on the sea surface, detached, and re-installed at different migration routes and crossing points
3. Production & Display Logic
• Hands are positioned on the sea like a trace left behind
• The structure is fixed but not permanent
• The project’s impact grows with each new display at different maritime migration passages
Project Timeline (General)
Total Duration: 3 Years
Lost Hands is designed as a traveling public art installation.
Year 1 – Production & First Displays
Months 1–3 | Preparation & Production
• Final technical designs and engineering drawings
• Material selection and production method decisions
• Production of 24 sculptural hands
• Lifebuoy and rope connection systems
• Test assemblies and durability trials
Year 2 Goal
To finalize the Türkiye exhibition phase and establish the project as a borderless public art movement ready for global migration passages
Year 3 – European Coastline Phase
Initial Regions
• Türkiye coastlines
• Greece coastlines and Aegean islands
Target Regions
• Italy coastlines
• South France or Spain coastlines
Number of Exhibition Points: 3–4 different locations
This phase includes:
• Final installations displayed at key maritime migration crossing points
• Collaborative presentations with local institutions and cultural initiatives
• Reinstallable format adapted to every new location
• Visual archive expanded with photography and video at each display
• 1–2 months of exhibition per location, followed by dismantling and relocation to the next route
Logistics Plan
Modular System
• 24 sculptural hands designed to be safely detachable
• Transported in protective custom-built crates
• Resistant to damage when removed from the sea or reinstalled
Transport & Installation
• Combined land and sea logistics used for movement
• Installations set up with local teams
• No permanent infrastructure required
Environmental Sensitivity
• Uses a fixing system that does not harm the sea floor or environment
• Leaves no trace after dismantling
The Power of the Implementation Plan
• Is not a one-time exhibition, but a sustainable public art journey spanning 3 years
• Carries the name of supporting institutions into international circulation with every new installation
• Creates a new space for awareness at each display and builds a lasting cultural archive
Benefits for Supporting Organizations
Organizations supporting this project will:
• Gain international visibility
• Be part of an ethical and humanitarian stance
• Contribute to collective memory through art
• Position themselves as founding supporters of a long-term global awareness initiative
The Role of Supporters
Supporters are not just financial contributors, but also partners who move the message forward.
Every supporting organization becomes part of a movement that ensures the voice of absence reaches beyond borders.
The Corner Principle
Supporters are not just funders, but also partners who amplify impact, share visibility, and take shared responsibility.
This project doesn't leave its supporters in the background; it makes them part of the movement.
Support Request
Lost Hands is an international art installation that expresses how becoming a refugee is not a choice, but most often a forced migration made for survival.
The project seeks institutional support in the following areas:
• Production of sculptural hands and technical equipment
• Temporary and safe installation suitable for sea conditions
• Professional photography and video documentation
• Contribution to international exhibition and presentation efforts
This project does not depict the lives lost at sea, but makes visible the absence left behind—giving form to our shared human responsibility.
For this reason, supporting Lost Hands is not an optional ethical statement, but a natural duty of institutions operating on an international scale.
A supporting institution will not only back an art project, but also embrace a global call for responsibility.
Supporting Lost Hands means saying: “We are here, and carrying this message forward is our duty.”
The core message of the installation is clear:
Taking action to help prevent similar future losses and expanding awareness together is the shared responsibility and duty of international institutions.
WHY YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS
Why International Institutions Should Be Part of This Project
The Sea of Hands does not describe a local issue.
It approaches a global human matter with a universal artistic language.
Support from international institutions will:
• Strengthen the project’s neutrality and ethical stance
• Expand the space for cross-cultural dialogue
• Increase the project’s international visibility and long-term impact
• Reinforce its lasting presence across future exhibitions
This support does not only make production possible,
it also expresses being part of a shared global responsibility.
Hasan Cingiz is a visual artist working in the disciplines of public art, sculpture, and installation.
In his works, he places human, space, and memory at the core, focusing on the invisible relationships between them.
His productions aim to establish a silent, direct, and unmediated connection with the viewer—without interference or guidance.
The artist’s works are included in private collections across numerous countries and cities around the world.
Through his internationally exhibited and shared projects, he seeks to build an emotional dialogue that transcends geography and speaks between places, people, and memories.
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