Image via Complex Original
Art can be found on every corner of the planet. From installations on tropical islands to projects on the coldest regions of Antartica, artists have set out across the world to create works where the journey becomes half of the message. By putting up their works in isolation, artists create site-specific pieces that often interact with or comment upon nature, removing us from our daily lives to experience a whole new environment. Now that it is easier than ever to travel the world, artists are still finding new frontiers to show their works. Here are The Craziest Art Installations on Remote Islands.
Outdoor Living Room
Artist: Unknown
Location: North Brother Island, New York
Date: 2014
North Brother Island is known for being deserted, and with its rough past there's no surprise that it is. When an old TV and chair appeared set up like a living room scene on the side of the island, people wondered where this strange installation came from. Although it was never confirmed, many believe that this was the work of a mysterious artist.
Pumpkin
Artist: Yayoi Kusama
Location: Naoshima, Japan
Date: 2006
Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama may have created a sculpture that single handedly put Naoshima, Japan on the map. This spotted pumpkin is centrally located steps away from a ferry port and draws art lovers from all over the world. The piece has become an icon of Naoshima, a once isolated island that has evolved into an area with plenty of modern art and architecture, mostly financed by the Benesse Corporation.
St. Lucia Island Installation
Artist: Unknown
Location: St. Lucia
Date: Unknown
St Lucia is a mere 238.2 square miles, which may not seem like much. Still, surrounding the perimeter of the island with colorful poles was not an easy feat, which is something one fine art gallery in St. Lucia set out to do. The project used numbers and colors as an internationally universal language, and it was about using and dispersing local materials.
Poetic co-existence once upon a time: architecture, underground dwelling, installation, monumental images and the landscape
Artist: Yang Fudong
Location: Traveling
Date: 2014 - 2015
On Aug. 29 Yang Fudong unveiled a site-specific film installation on an Arctic beach in conjunction with the Norwegian art festival SALT. The footage was shot in China and Norway and is set to travel to some of the world’s northernmost points, including Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, and Alaska.
Dear Markus
Artist: Alfredo Jaar
Location: Island in the Baltic Sea south of Turku, Finland
Date: 2011
Chilean-born artist Alfredo Jaar was inspired to produce this collection of billboards while on a research trip in Finland. After passing a boat at 5:45 a.m. he wondered why the boat was out at such an early hour. He then found out that a boy took the four-hour journey every morning to go to school on the mainland. Jaar was so moved by this realization he made the series of billboards with letters to the boy as well as a book that is available on the boat.
Mirror House
Artist: Ekkehard Altenburger
Location: Isle of Tiree, Scotland
Date: 1996
Mirror House was built in 1996 by sculptor Ekkehard Altenburger on the Isle of Tiree in Scotland. It didn't have windows, furniture, or a door and was entirely made of mirrors. The Isle of Tiree is a beautiful mossy utopia, and Altenburger stated that the mirror house “seemed the perfect response to that particular environment.” When asked if he would do the sculpture differently if he had the chance, he said, “Certain works just can’t get better; that is why I always shied away to recreate this work, it was perfect as it was, and it could not be bettered.”
The Library of Water
Artist: Roni Horn
Location: Stykkishólmur, Iceland
Date: 2012
Artist Roni Horn transformed a former library into The Library of Water, which consists of 24 glass columns that contain water from major glaciers throughout Iceland. The library also has two auxiliary rooms. One includes Roni Horn’s ongoing series of books made in Iceland as well as audio of people discussing the weather; the other is a private studio where writers are invited to temporarily live and work. The project is partially a commentary on global warming and partially a creative haven.
NotOna
Artist: Not Vital
Location: Island in the middle of Lago General Carrera, Argentina
Date: 2014
NotOna is the name of the island home that Swiss artist Not Vital has constructed for himself. This abode is the definition of minimal, made up of 50-meter tunnel that spans the length of the island. Throughout the construction, Not Vital respected the habitat, so instead of just getting rid of the rubble that the excavation produced, he used the extra marble to fill the Big Stairs, the white, concrete box found at the water’s edge. When Not Vital visits NotOna, he truly immerses himself in nature and sleeps with only a mattress covered with a sleeping bag.
Whalsay
Artist: Keith Barret
Location: Island of Whalsay in Shetland, Scotland
Date: 2001
Keith Barret’s sculpture Whalsay is located on an island in Shethland, Scotland of the same name. Barrett says that the project is “sourced in landscape and explores the psychological, emotional and cultural relationship we have with our environment.” The piece is made from wood and structurally resembles a double-sided shell or an open clam. Barrett says, “The sculpture frames the distant landscape and creates an optical illusion where the landscape is magnified or brought forward within the frame.”
Fire in a Box
Artist: Tanapol Kaewpring
Location: Island in Thailand
Date: 2010
Tanapol Kaewpring created seven different glass cubes with different elements, including fire, smoke, light, water, etc. These boxes can be found in environments such as the beach, the desert, the city, and beyond. Kaewpring explains, “These forces of nature have the capacity for great change, growth, and destruction, and yet they are still able to be controlled by humanity. Even they have their limits. These elements combined with their settings represent aspects of psychological freedom. If we are able to think outside the box, to break the glass that surrounds us, perhaps we could achieve true liberation and happiness.”
Surrounded Islands
Artists: Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Location: Islands in Biscayne Bay, Fla.
Date: 1983
Artist duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude came up with the bizarre idea to surround 11 islands in Biscayne Bay, Fla. with pink woven polypropylene fabric. This was no easy feat; it involved a very intricate anchoring system, 6.5 million square feet of fabric, and many volunteers.
Stellar Axis: Antarctica
Artist: Lita Albuquerque
Location: Antarctica
Date: 2013
This installation is the first installation in Antarctica, as well as the largest, and it features 99 massive ultramarine spheres that are aligned with stars in the sky. California-based artist Lita Albuquerque collaborated with an astronomer to place the spheres corresponding to the brightest stars at 77 degrees south on the day of the summer solstice on the Ross Ice Shelf.
Two-Way Mirror Triangle With One Curved Side
Artist: Dan Graham
Location: Lofoten Islands, Norway
Date: 1996
Dan Graham’s Two-Way Mirror Triangle With One Curved Side piece is the closest human beings will get to living the movie Inception. The project features a two-way mirror that allows subjects to look at themselves through unconventional perspectives. You are basically looking at yourself, look at yourself.
You are (on) an island
Artist: Alicia Eggert
Location: Peaks Island, Maine
Date: 2013
Alicia Eggert’s mobile piece, titled You are (on) and island, features neon lights that are meant to communicate a dual message. The word “On” blinks on and off to make us question our relationship to the island. Inspired by her different experiences in South Africa, Eggert drives around in a truck with her installation in the back of it.
Seventy Thousand Curtains
Artist: Atefeh Khas and Tara Goodarzy
Location: Hormoz Island, Iran
Date: 2010
Atefeh Khas and Tara Goodarzy recycle different fibers to create art that promotes ecological and social issues. Inspired by a story of Prophet Muhammad, their project Seventy Thousand Curtains, consisted of several altered curtains that were held up by local female students on Hormoz Island in Iran.
Remote Places #2
Artist: Tomaz Kramberger
Location: Susak Island, Croatia
Date: 2006
Little is known about the small Adriatic island of Susak, whose complex history is grounded mainly in oral tradition and mythology. Today, few natives remain and the island’s economy relies largely on tourism. Tomaz Kramberger’s Remote Places #2 is a two-part installation consisting of a giant light switch located on the lower part of the island, as well as fairy lights that flicker on and off in the upper part of town. Remote Places #2 is a nod to Susak’s function as a temporary getaway from the rest of the world, but it also exudes the same sense of quiet mystery that has shrouded the island for thousands of years.
SALT
Artist: Sami Rintala
Location: Traveling
Date: 2014
SALT was an installation designed by architect Sami Rintala for the SALT Festival, a weekend-long celebration of Arctic culture. The three different structures of the installation are inspired by the fiskehjeller, traditional Norwegian fish racks. These stark wooden buildings will serve as venues for the festival, but have also been designed to be mobile; after its initial stay in Norway, SALT will travel to another location in the Arctic every year.
Bed Hanging From a Tree
Artist: Unknown
Location: Mainau Island, Germany
Date: 2013
The late Swedish prince Lennart Bernadotte channeled his passion for horticulture by cultivating the garden island of Mainau, located near the southern shore of Germany. The Alice in Wonderland-like island boasts colorful topiary, insanely large butterflies, and, perhaps most bizarrely, a bed hanging from a tree, a whimsical art installation. This Magritte-esque juxtaposition is just one of many sights to ponder in the dreamy, sometimes absurd, but always enchanting “Island of Flowers.”
Stream 2
Artist: Krick Barraud
Location: Cook Islands, New Zealand
Date: 2012
New Zealander Krick Barraud’s background in costume design and styling no doubt influenced Stream 2, a conceptual installation located in the Cook Islands. Startlingly red strips of fabric lay stretched across an otherwise ordinary stream, reminding us of the profound vibrancy in nature we often take for granted.
Net-Work
Artist: Do-Ho Suh
Location: Islands of Japan's Seto Inland Sea
Date: 2010
Thanks to the efforts of art collector Soichiro Fukutake, Japan’s Seto Islands have become a prominent site for contemporary art exhibitions. One of the many notable installations is Net-Work by Korean artist Do-Ho Suh. The piece, inspired by a fisherman’s net, juxtaposes the hard medium of metal with the net’s soft, flowing form—a reflection of the contrast, yet ultimate harmony, between nature and art.