COALITION 15 years of art and ecology
To celebrate its 15th anniversary, COAL is joining forces with the Gaîté Lyrique to present a major multidisciplinary exhibition featuring…
Image credits: Studio Orta, Antarctica World Passport
COAL partner of the ANTARCTICA WORLD PASSPORT project
Published on 21 May 2014
On the occasion of the first End of the World Biennial, Lucy + Jorge Orta went on an expedition to the Argentinean scientific base of Marambio on the Antarctic Peninsula. It is in these extreme climatic conditions that the artists have installed the Antarctic Village, a symbolic temporary village made up of dome tents and nomadic shelters. The 50 modular habitats of the village are constructed from flags of different nations that were sewn together with scraps of clothing and gloves, to symbolize the multiplicity and diversity of peoples.
The flags and clothes are decorated with silk-screened texts where the two artists have inscribed a new article to complete the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Lucy + Jorge Orta propose an amendment toArticle 13 to guarantee all individuals the right to move freely regardless of national borders and any form of discrimination. In this perspective, Antarctica becomes the symbol of an ideal place to rebuild a new world without borders, ready to welcome populations of different ethnic origin.
As part of this project, the artists created the Antarctic Universal Passport. It is a document that guarantees all those who, due to their refugee or immigrant status, find themselves without papers, but also all those who wish to do so, the right to adopt a new universal identity. This passport, granted to all those who request it, allows its holder to becoming a citizen of the worldTo mark its opposition to war and barbaric acts, to terror and poverty, and to support social progress in order to preserve human dignity and defend the inalienable rights of freedom, justice and peace in the world.
The Antarctic Treaty of 1959, now has 50 signatory nations, making this continent a common territory. The Madrid Protocol, ratified in 1991, freezes the possibility of any mining until 2048 and prohibits for 50 years any research or industrial exploitation. Similarly, military activities are prohibited. Since then, Antarctica has become a land of peace, science and international cooperation.
For the artists Lucy + Jorge Orta, the Antarctic is a symbol of union of the peoples of the world and of solidarity. A land turned towards the future whose immaculate whiteness contains the wish of the whole humanity to convey a message of hope to the future generations. This passport allows all citizens of the world to act on a large scale.
Become a world citizen and get your Antarctica passport! Go to www.antarcticaworldpassport.com. More information is available at www.studio-orta.com.
