Alex Hartley will bring Nymark, an island he discovered in the High Arctic region of Svalbard in 2004, to the South West of England. The island, about the size of a football pitch, consists of rubble and moraine around a small amount of bedrock. It was revealed from within the melting ice of a retreating glacier and Alex was the first human to ever stand on it. The island has been recognised by the Norwegian Polar Institute and is now named and included on all maps and charts.
A portion of the island will be transported to South West England through international waters and whilst en route will apply for micronation status. The new 'micronation', nowhereisland will navigate the entire 702 miles of the coast of the South West region, visiting its ports and harbours accompanied by a travelling embassy/support vehicle.
359 people have already signed up for citizenship, and the aim is to surpass the population total of the smallest country in the world (the Vatican: 920) by this Friday (23 October 2009) - and Liechtenstein / Monaco by 2012.
nowhereisland will be produced by Alex and his collaborator, artist Tania Kovats, along with Situations, a public art commissioning programme at the University of the West of England in Bristol, who will develop a coordinated series of events, forums, celebrations and education programme.
The project explores climate change, land ownership, national identity and the exploitation of the Earth's remaining natural resources. At the end of the Olympic year, the island will return to the Arctic to be made whole again.
Alex works primarily with photography, often incorporating it into sculpture and installation. Over 20 years, his work has explored attitudes toward built and natural environments. He has exhibited nationally and internationally at venues including Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh (2007), Natural History Museum (2006), Distrito Cuatro, Madrid (2003), The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan (2001) and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark (2000) and is represented by Victoria Miro Gallery. Alex lives in Dorset