The Aluminati installation was constructed by BAM and designed in collaboration with Martha Schwartz as part of the 2008 Reykjavik Experiment Marathon curated by Olafur Eliasson and Hans Ulrich Orbst.

 A charged political statement, Aluminati is intended to expose and address the current crisis of the Icelandic landscape. Aluminum foil, the primary medium of Aluminati, is a harbinger of the environmental dilemma that Iceland faces. Aluminum smelting plants are attracted to the island’s free geothermal energy. The appearance of these global companies and their massive plants are a point of controversy for Icelanders, who associate their national identity with their pristine landscape.

 Aluminati makes a call for discourse about nature in the 21st century. A 500 sqm box set within the courtyard of Kjarvalsstadir Museum appears as a black monolith from the exterior.  Inside, visitors find a geode-like subtraction from the box.  The circulation path ambulates around the geode, with prismatic window openings offering glimpses of the dazzling landscape within. 

There is something dangerous in this beauty.