In 2011, artist Alex Hartley and an expedition team
sailed to a new island in Svalbard in the Arctic.
They used part of the island to make a new island, sailed into
International Waters in the Arctic and declared this new
territory, Nowhereisland: a brand new nation.
The team came up with a Declaration document after a
lot of debate and discussion
Nowhereisland is a new nation declared on behalf of its
citizens.
Nowhereisland’s territory originated from an island
newly revealed by a retreating glacier in the High Arctic
archipelago of Svalbard. Nowhereisland is established in
response to the failure of nation states to adequately
address interconnected global crises, such as
environmental exploitation. The island’s territory
crossed into international waters north of Svalbard on
20th September 2011.
Nowhereisland seeks to redefine what a nation can be.
Nowhereisland embodies the global potential of a new
borderless nation, which offers citizenship to all; a
space in which all are welcome and in which all have the
right to be heard. Nowhereisland’s constitution is and
will be cumulative and consensual, open to all citizens
and subject to change during the nation’s lifetime.
Nowhereisland is a displaced nation journeying south in
search of its people.
80° 14N 10° 30E
Here’s a map of their Svalbard journey
Nowhereisland is now on its journey to south west
England. It will make a journey along the coast from
Weymouth to Bristol this summer.
You can become a citizen of Nowhereisland.
Arctic stories: The Snow Queen by Hand Christian Andersen
Arctic stories: The Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman
(filmed as The Golden Compass)
Arctic stories: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Island stories: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe
Allegory: The Wizard of Oz
Allegory: The Hare and The Tortoise
Allegory: V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
Island stories: On My Island by Marie-Louise Gay
Island stories: Islands Magazine
Shifting landscapes: Quarries
Land and art: Sculptural rocks, Beijing
Land and art: Moon rock
Land and art: Polar Sea/The Destroyed Hope,
Caspar David Friedrich, 1824
Land and art: The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog,
Caspar David Friedrich, 1818
Land and art: Displaced/Replaced Mass, Michael Heizer, 1969
Land and art: Surrounded Islands, Christo and Jean-Claude,
1980-83
Land and art: Floating Island, Robert Smithson, 1970/2005
Land and art: When Faith Moves Mountains,
Francis Alys, 2002
Land and art: Wheatfield – A Confrontation, Agnes Denes,
1982
Land and art: A Line in the Himalayas, Richard Long, 1975
Active citizenship: posters
Active citizenship: placards
Art, proposals and slogans: Mark Titchner
Art, slogans and proposals: Bob and Roberta Smith
Art, proposals and slogans: Jenny Holzer