Nowhereisland

Nowhereisland was an artwork by artist Alex Hartley,[1] produced by the Bristol-based arts organisation, Situations.

[2] Nowhereisland was an ‘Artists Taking the Lead’ project,[3] funded by Arts Council England as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

[4] The work involved the discovery of a new island that had been revealed from within the melting ice of a retreating glacier on the Svalbard peninsula in Norway.

This new nation - Nowhereisland[6] - was towed around the South West coast of England prior to and during the 2012 Olympic Games.

[10] Situations director Claire Doherty stated "It’s the ultimate form of citizenship...for ever more, the people of Nowhereisland will not just belong to the nation, they will own a part of it, too.”[11] As a final gesture, a small piece of the island was sent to the edge of space, where some particles of rock from the island will remain in the upper-stratosphere.