Aluminati
The Aluminati installation was constructed by BAM and designed in collaboration with Martha Schwartz as part of the 2008 Reykjavik Experiment Marathon curated by Olafur Eliasson and Hans Ulrich Orbst.
A charged political statement, Aluminati is intended to expose and address the current crisis of the Icelandic landscape. Aluminum foil, the primary medium of Aluminati, is a harbinger of the environmental dilemma that Iceland faces. Aluminum smelting plants are attracted to the island’s free geothermal energy. The appearance of these global companies and their massive plants are a point of controversy for Icelanders, who associate their national identity with their pristine landscape.
Aluminati makes a call for discourse about nature in the 21st century. A 500 sqm box set within the courtyard of Kjarvalsstadir Museum appears as a black monolith from the exterior. Inside, visitors find a geode-like subtraction from the box. The circulation path ambulates around the geode, with prismatic window openings offering glimpses of the dazzling landscape within.
There is something dangerous in this beauty.
LOCATION: Reykjavic Museum of Modern Art
TYPE: Installation Design and Construction
YEAR: 2008
STATUS: Destroyed
SIZE: 500m²
COLLABORATORS: Martha Schwartz