Operation Hurricane , 2007
anemometer ,stainless steel, plexiglas, cables, neon tubes , adhesive lettering, electronic system
3,50m x 1,90 m (h) x 2,20m

Five irregularly shaped Minimalist light boxes are held in equilibrium by a similarly irregular metal strip, with the light emanating from them fluctuating like staccato breathing in response to the on-again off-again breaks in electric current caused by a storm. Operation Hurricane takes its title from a Canadian military mission carried out as part of an ongoing territorial conflict with Denmark over the tiny island of Hans, lost among the ice of the Arctic Circle. Like banners, the light boxes bear inscriptions relating the measures taken by the two countries as, year after year, they plant flags on the island which are rapidly destroyed by the harshness of the elements. The tremulousness of the messages – sort of Morse code in light that influences our reading of the texts – is governed by an anemometer on the roof of the exhibition venue. The ecology of Operation Hurricane, whose optimal presentation would require a genuine hurricane, seems to involve a perverse parallel with the unspoken underpinnings of the two countries’ geopolitical interests in the island: both are waiting for the thaw caused by global warming to let them take over this military and trading zone. The fact that for most of the time the work is not operating either destabilises any expectations of efficient communication – as does the island’s resistance to being colonised – or sets the viewer wondering whether or not the sculpture has broken down.

Text by Pedro Morais in Bettina Samson, Laps & Strates, edition Adera, Lyon, 2009.

Photography: Anders Sune Berg

 

 

© NETTIE HORN