Alex Hartley searched for and discovered
Nyskjaeret in 2004. The island had been revealed by the melting ice of a
retreating glacier. Alex was the first person to set foot on the
island. It's about the size of a football pitch. Alex built a cairn at the centre of the island with the date of
his discovery inside a tin can. In 2006 the Norwegian Polar Institute
agreed to recognise the island and to name it and include it on all
subsequent maps. On the 2011 expedition, Alex replaced this can with a
signed note by the expedition team marking their visit, along with a
letter written by an eight-year old from Bristol.
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| Nyskjaeret Photo:Max Mclure |
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This became Nowhereisland, an island from the Arctic on a journey around the coast
of South West England. As it started this epic journey, it travelled
through international waters, whereupon it became the world's newest
nation - Nowhereisland - with citizenship open to all.
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| The Embassy Photo:Max Mclure |
On it's visit to Torquay I went to see Nowhereisland and visited it's embassy (which was in the harbour) and became one of the citizens with a certificate to prove it!
What fascinates me are the multiple layers which comprise this
artwork. Nowhereisland
is durational (it unfolds over time); it is nomadic (it moves across
locations, accruing different meanings in different contexts); it is
physical matter (it is a sculpture comprising material from the Arctic
and a collection of objects, documents, photographs and films in the
Embassy); it is an intervention (a geological displacement of material, a
landscape moving around another landscape); it is the words and images
of others (speaking back to the project through the Resident Thinkers
programme and Constitution) and it is a utopian idea (a conceptual
nation involving thousands of people across the world shaping that
nation's values and principles online).
It's got something for everyone, after our visit to the embassy even my five year old was questioning the meaning of freedom!
I recommend you
visit the online embassy to explore more about it all.
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