Iceland review - 2007, Page 17

ICELAND REVIEW 15
The cold and windy ceremony was beamed live to nearly every home
in Iceland, as national pride swelled with the realization of John and
Yoko’s 40-year-old dream. She was joined on the island by world
media and dignitaries, a choir of children and Ringo Starr, George Harrison’s
widow Olivia, and Sean Lennon (Ono’s son with John Lennon).
The couple had a conceptual idea for a huge lighthouse for peace in
Lennon’s garden in 1967, but the logistics and costs ensured it remained
noth ing but a beautiful idea. Since Lennon’s death in 1980, Yoko Ono has
continued her campaign for world peace and over time it has snowballed
into a global movement under the banner “Imagine Peace”.
The artwork consists of an intensely bright beam of light pointing upward
to the heavens that emanates from a short tower of white stone inscribed
with the words “Imagine Peace” in 24 languages. In addition, over half a million
messages of peace from people all over the world will be buried around the
column in specially designed capsules.
Ono explained that the tower came to Reykjavík partly because she did
not want it powered by fossil fuels and also because, “Iceland is in the north,
and in mythology the north is where the power and wisdom comes from and
we can spread the power downwards.”
Now that the media spotlight has moved on, the light continues to shine.
And love it or loathe it, nobody in Reykjavík (as well as coastal towns for a
hundred kilometers) can avoid it. But for such a controversial project, opin-
ion still seems to be generally positive. The light will shine every year from
Lennon’s birthday (October 9) until the anniversary of his assassination
(Decem ber 8), as well as on New Year’s Eve, the first week of spring and other
carefully selected dates.
Not many hippie mantras get immortalized in stone and light, but “Peace &
Love” now has a permanent home on this earth. It’s probably the best mantra of
them all though, and now one tiny step closer to becoming a reality. Shine On.
PEACEFUL Conquest
On October 9, the world’s attention focused briefly on Iceland as Yoko Ono unveiled her Imagine Peace Tower on the
small but historically significant island of Videy, a short boat ride north of Reykjavík’s commercial harbor.
BY ALëx ELLIOTT PHOTO BY PáLL STEFáNSSON