Portable Nation
Disappearance as work in progress – approaches to Eco-Romanticism

Climate experts are divided in their scientific opinion on the issue of climate change. The recognized opinion is that Earth’s climate system is unequivocally warming, and that it is certain that humans are causing it. Other climate scientists stand firm on their position that climate change and rising sea water levels is a recurring natural phenomenon that has become heavily politizised and misused by organizations, governments and politicians with different motives.

There is no absolute agreement in the public perception of this controversy either. However, according to one of the scientific positions, the Maldives is estimated to disappear under the ocean in the year 2080. If this is the case with this compact micro nation, we are currently witnessing the direct consequences of the global ecological tragedy in progress, perhaps making the Maldives the first movable prototype nation ready to pack up and relocate.

In order for the Maldives to appear again as a nation at another designated location / land, the Maldivians are in the process of collecting, archiving and preserving every detail of their existence.

The Maldives Pavilion is a theoretical research project consisting of several public events in the Maldives and Venice including exhibitions, publication, seminars and a documentary film. It debates environmental events related to social and cultural life, to the notion of nation without territory, climate change law and environmental politics.

Artists and contributors from around the world will be invited to contribute works related to contemporary environmental romanticism. Collectively they will form a portable micro exhibition positioned inside a transparent colorless space, easy and ready to be moved to another location as a symbol of the Maldivian case.

Our notion of the portable pavilion is based on a romantic review. It reflects how artists and thinkers from around the world share with the Maldivians the concern of preservation by presenting solutions to our ecological situation. Hence the pavilion presents a collection of thoughts on preserving and archiving the Maldivian memory and history, and a visual representation of the sinking paradise.

Comissioner
Mr. Ahmed Adeeb, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture,
Republic of Maldives

Curators
CPS – Chamber of Public Secrets
(Alfredo Cramerotti, Aida Eltorie, Khaled Ramadan)

Consultants
Henry Meyric Hughes, Hon. President AICA,
General Coordinator of Council of Europe Exhibitions, UK.
Hedwig Fijen, Director Manifesta Foundation, Netherland.