Reykjavík Grapevine - May 2021, Page 11

There’s The New Constitution
Libia Castro & Ólafur Ólafsson will never stop fi!htin! for what they
were promised
For almost 10 years, the cry of ‘Hvar er
n!ja stjórnarskráin?’ (‘Where’s the new
constitution?’) has been heard around
the country as Iceland’s “crowdsourced”
constitution remains unratified by the
government, despite overwhelming
support in a public referendum. But
what you might not know is that that
cry has been going on for many years
longer—decades longer in fact.
“So when Iceland decided to break
away from Denmark in 1944, there was
a period in that early process when
Iceland considered writing a whole
new constitution,” artist Ólafur Ólafs-
son explains. At the time, the former
Kingdom of Iceland lived under the
monarchic Danish constitution. “But
they found they didn’t have the time. It
was more complex than they thought.
So they went to make the least changes
that were necessary to adapt the Dan-
ish constitution into the new Icelandic
one.” This hastily made document was
heavily based on the monarchic one
with some very notable changes, of
course—such as the role of King being
shifted to President. That said, struc-
turally it wasn’t too different. A proper
long-term constitutional committee
was put together to write a new wholly-
Icelandic one, but after three years, it
faded away and the rudimentary con-
stitution remains in use to this day.
“So it’s a 19th century constitution,”
Libia Castro, Ólafur’s artistic partner,
emphasises. “And it was meant to be a
temporary solution,” Ólafur adds. The
meaning is clear: Iceland was always
meant to write a new constitution.
The two artists and activists, known
for their provocative works exploring
identity and nationhood, have been
pushing Iceland’s understanding of
their own constitution for decades.
Now they are back with ‘Magic Meeting
— A Decade On’, their newest exhibition
focusing on the battle surrounding the
proposed Icelandic constitution.
Searching for magic
The exhibition—which uses the word
decade due to it being 10 years since
the original Constitutional Council—is
a continuation of their 2020 collective
performance ‘In Search of Magic – A
Proposal for a New Constitution for The
Republic of Iceland’ which took place on
October 3rd, 2020 at various places in
Reykjavík, including the Reykjavík Art
Museum Hafnarhús, Prime Minister’s
office and in front of Al"ingi. There,
a diverse group of composers, artists,
activists and members of the public
joined together to create a multivocal
work that brought to life all 114 articles
of the proposed Icelandic constitution.
The new exhibition at Hafnarborg
features a plethora of objects relating to
the performance, including the sketch-
es of the original plans, banners from
the protests, photographs, and much
more. Most notable is a five-hour vid-
eo of the show, stitched together from
video footage and cell phone record-
ings interspersed with archival foot-
age from the financial crash. Lastly,
a special work area has been created
downstairs for activists and artists to
continue their work campaigning for
the ratification of the new constitution.
How different is different?
“A fundamental difference is the order
of appearance,” Ólafur explains, when
asked about the specifics of the new
constitution. In the current constitu-
tion, the first 25% defines the role of the
president, which is largely symbolic.
From there, it goes to parliament, the
government, institutions, the church
and, after all of that, come the people
and human rights. “When you start a
book, you don’t introduce its leading
characters at the end. They are placed
in the order of importance.” The new
constitution flips that, starting with
the public.
“We felt so strongly then that [our
performance of the new constitution]
had to be a collaborative work,” Libia
continues. Thus, they featured partici-
pants of all backgrounds and styles,
both in composition as well as perfor-
mance, as well as languages as diverse
as Greenlandic and Filipino.
With their performance, they also
set out to underline the topical differ-
ences of the proposed constitution,
which features new sections on the
rights of nature and natural resources.
In a particularly moving moment, Erla
Bolladóttir, known for being wrongfully
convicted in the 1974 Gu#mundur and
Geirfinnur case, read Article 27, the new
declaration of freedom.
Standing on the precipice
But the exhibition also stands on the
cusp of the upcoming elections in Sep-
tember—elections that could deter-
mine the fate of the new constitution.
“To get the new constitution imple-
mented, what is most important is the
parties that are going to be elected,”
Libia says. “So this exhibition for us is
marking that time.” The rooms are, as
Libia explains, a place both to reflect
on the past and also determine the best
way to make a better future. “That’s why
we have this project space-in-progress,”
she continues. “We are using this space
to produce new work and for activism
meetings. We are all thinking together
how to continue the campaign.”
And in that way, the exhibition
treads through an undefinable space
between history lesson, contemporary
art museum and activist hangout. But
this murkiness, as Libia illustrates, Is
necessary to the overall meaning of the
show.
“The movement of going into a mu-
seum allows you a space of reflexivity,
of reflection, but you also go out of the
museum and that becomes an action,
an intervention into society. So in this
show, many of the works and how the
whole installation is made up follow
this frame of thinking—the poros-
ity between society and life,” Libia ex-
plains. “So for example, when you are
in the entrance, those banners that are
put up are both paintings and banners.
They fulfil both of those different roles.
They go into the history of conceptual
painting, textile works, art and femi-
nism and they also go into activism.
“And we are still using them like
that,” Libia continues proudly. “We can
take one down and go into the street. So
then [the banner] is activated, [serving]
another role and another function, and
then we put it back in the installation.”
But what can we do?
Thinking beyond the scope of art and
protest, what can one tangibly do to
fight for the new constitution?
“Absolutely informing themselves,”
Libia states. “Inform themselves about
the differences: What is this new one?
What is the old one? Also the context—
how have they been written? What is
this idea that the people in this country
had always wanted to write a new one?”
But as a representative democracy,
Libia continues, it’s really in the politi-
cal parties’ court in the end. Unfortu-
nately, it’ll be them that choose whether
or not to ratify it.
“The sad version of this answer is
that there is not enough one can do with
just voting,” Ólafur interjects. “The par-
ties aren’t clear enough on their po-
sitions. It comes to the sad cliché of
broken promises.”
Libia nods. “So before the elections,
it’s very important that people inform
themselves and that they actually vote
for parties that put this at the centre,”
she urges. “Even if they are maybe not
totally in agreement with the whole po-
litical programme of the party. If they
want the new constitution, they need to
think of that when they vote.”
For Ólafur, even if the fight can of-
ten seem relentless, it’s necessary to
keep going. Even the two artists have
seen their art and activism challenged
—in fact, on May 2nd, the city of Haf-
narfjör#ur unceremoniously removed
their pro-new constitution banners,
which hung outside the museum with
no warning. The town council claimed
they didn’t have permission; something
which has never been an issue in the
past.
But remember, as Ólafur reminds us,
the people already spoke their mind and
supported this new constitution, so the
government should follow suit—and a
watered-down version isn’t the answer.
“We need to not let it go,” he con-
cludes. “Be active and make these elec-
tions meaningful.”
Words:
Hannah Jane
Cohen
Photos:
Art Bicnick
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"We need to not let it go. Be active and make these elections meaningful."
Info
‘Magic Meeting —
A Decade On’ will
run until May 30th
at Hafnarborg
Banners ready for both the museum and the barricades
“When you start
a book, you
don’t introduce
its leading
characters at
the end. They
are placed in
the order of
importance.”