Atlantica - 01.09.2002, Blaðsíða 9

On the 19th of July, in the presidential city of
Washington DC, three spies disguised in black
repelled down the front of a building at 800 F
Street, near the headquarters of the FBI. Slickly
they slid down the rope, swinging to and fro, com-
ing to a stop about halfway down at a large label
reading ‘Top Secret’. The agile bodies then pro-
ceeded to uncover the secret by slashing the rib-
bon in two, as one would slash an axe through the
skull of an enemy. The secret was out, the
International Spy Museum had been opened.
Curious bystanders streamed into the historical
building, gawking at the spy gadgets, weapons, bugs, buttonhole cameras and Bond-suitable cars. Visitors stood with open
mouth as the world of espionage was unravelled before their eyes; listening to spies describing the dangers and thrills of the spy-
ing game, and testing their own spying skills at interactive stations.
The history of the spying industry, from camera-carrying pigeons, to the ‘Sisterhood of Spies’ and the Russian KGB, is laid out
on the table for all to see. Visitors can learn about the intelligence that warned of Pearl Harbour beforehand, how the Enigma code
was eventually broken, and how the Navajo ‘code-talkers’ communicated. The museum also reveals the secrets behind covert
operations and projects such as the atomic bomb, D-Day and the ‘Red Scare’. Let’s just hope that The Enemy won’t get wind of
this museum. AÓJ
A T L A N T I C A 7
SPY MUSEUM
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Lies, Deceit
and Espionage
Guests staying at the Utter Inn hotel in Sweden are taken to their room in
an inflatable boat, given instructions and left alone in a small red shed in
the middle of Lake Mälaren in Västerås, which is about 100 km west of
Stockholm. After bustling around in the water or canoeing to the nearest
uninhabited island, guests can retreat to the underwater bedroom, situat-
ed six metres under the lake. Through the windows on all sides curious fish
survey and inspect the peculiar human specimens on show, whilst other
fish go on with their daily life as normal, not bothered by their terrestrial
visitors. Guests crawl into their warm, dry beds, surrounded by water and
sea life everywhere they look, sticking out like a sore thumb in the wet and
slimy underworld. A night at the one-room hotel costs around 50 GBP per
person, which is a cheap price to pay for a once-in-a-lifetime experience
and a chance to participate in modern art. The price includes an evening
meal and breakfast brought to your doorstep by boat.
The Utter Inn was created by the Swedish artist Mikael Genberg, and
seems to have been endowed with a larger share of imagination than most
others. Genberg’s ‘tree house’ hotel in Västerås, the Hotell Hackspett, is
snuggled 13 metres up in the largest oak tree in Wasapark. The hotel has a toilet, two balconies, a kitchen, bedroom, library, ham-
mock and other accessories needed for tree-dwelling. At Genberg’s Café Koala, customers have to climb five-metre-high chairs
to find a seat, making the simple task of drinking coffee a dangerous affair. The outdoor toilet designed by Genberg will also
leave you feeling vulnerable. The one-way mirror window allows you to watch the outside world as you pass the time on the toi-
let, whilst passers-by only see their own reflection in the mirror on the other side. Why? To make art public, to play with the idea
of fear, to sharpen the senses, and to encourage people to reflect on whether reality really has to be the way it is. AÓJ
airmail
FROM HERE AND THERE
A Deep, Deep Sleep
THE UTTER INN UNDERWATER HOTEL PUTS MAN IN A FISHBOWL FOR THE FISHES TO GAWK AT.
007-016 ATL402 Airmail-rm 18.8.2002 13:00 Page 7