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Temporary Nations Project

Posted by Lalya on 29 March 2008⋅ Comment⋅ Share⋅  Email ⋅  Print
Tags: architecture, physical space, Social experiments, Workshops

Orchestrated by intermedia artist McCloud Zicmuse, Temporary Nations Project is an artistic/architectural/socio-experimental project that consists of proclaiming working micro-nations and putting them in motion, each within the limited space and time of a workshop. The project “deals with the ideas of nationality, statehood and autonomy within the parameters of todays society” and explores the various forms of human organization and emerging social dynamics when they occur within strict and specific constraints.

Organised as United Temporary Nations, such micro-countries include Cartondule that existed in a gallery for two weeks (see pictures below), Kumokokudo - a nation of clouds - the nation NOW that can only be inhabited in the moment, and Iceburg - a nation situated inside an iceburg that may only exist until it melts.

McCloud Zicmuse - aka Le Ton Mité - is an architect, intermedia artist, musician and designer based in Lyon, France. He visited Göteborg this week to play at Stadsbiblioteket for Koloni and at the MyComputer exhibition at Gallery 300m3, enchanting the public with his naive surrealistic pop music and super8 video projections. He also took part in Dånk!’s Vélophonik 1.0 noisebike performance.

During this visit, Zicmuse and Dånk! Collective proclaimed the nation of Snöland-Snorge. This nation lasted for about 56 minutes during a day of heavy snow fall and spread over a few square meters on top of a hill. It had snow as its only and rather limited natural resource for both food and construction material, and traded goods with neighbouring country Sweden. The population of Snorge consisted of McCloud (King of Snöland-Snorge), Lalya (Minister of Everything), Olle (Official Snowsmith to the Crown) and later on Richard (illegal immigrant from Sweden who eventually obtained Snorgan citizenship).

More info:
* United Temporary Nations
* Cartondule
* Snöland-Snorge
* McCloud Zicmuse
* Le Ton Mité
* Picture set of McCloud’s visit on Flickr

McCloud was this week in Umeå, building the nation Terra at Gallery Kari Cavén, in collaboration with Moonshake. He is playing again in Göteborg on Saturday 5th April, at a Koloni event at Hagateatern.