In an exhibition at the Fotografiska Museum in Stockholm, you follow stories from girls on the run that dissolve and animate on the walls, from five of the most common escape routes in the world.

Many of the girls have told stories about places they pass on their dangerous journeys, serving as temporary gaps of calm — physical places where they feel a sense of community. Hair salons, in simply furnished cargo containers, are one of these havens. Here, the girls have the opportunity to share experiences and stories with each other, including with Save the Children.

This exhibition rebuilds a hair salon built by 20 million pixels - one for each girl on the move in the world today. A space where girls tell us what forced them to leave their home, the risks they faced during transit and the challenges they meet once they reach their destination.

In this 270 degree projected art installation, the viewers get to follow the girls’ stories along the walls of the exhibition room. Stemming from a soundtrack collected from actual interviews performed with refugee girls across the world, words from their testimonies appear and are dispersed along the walls in patterns of the biggest refugee routes from all continents.

One important part of Save the Children’s research was to identify safe places along the migration journey. One of these was the hair salons, a space for community and safety taking place in simply furnished cargo containers.

We recreated a true to life 3D version of one of those salons for the exhibition, effectively enabling the girl's words to transform into the salon using 20 million particles, one for each girl on the run today.

This 3D experience was a different and innovative way for Save the Children to bring this data gap in front of the eyes of people in an emotionally charged way, where they can’t turn away from the harsh realities 20 million girls are living.

The exhibition was launched at the Fotografiska Museum in Stockholm during the period: June 24th - September 19th 2021. It will continue to be installed in Sweden, next up being in northern Sweden at Norrbottens Museum.