In Island of an Island (1998–2001), French contemporary artist of Armenian origin Melik Ohanian renders the ‘virgin territory’ of Surtsey Island, which emerged from a volcanic eruption off the coast of Iceland in the late 1960s, in three dimensions through 35 mm footage occupying three walls, a floor patterned with lights shaped like a flower found on the island, and several convex mirrors. He gives Surtsey Island a room of its own. One cannot land there: it is a nature reserve open to handful of scientists and has recently been listed as a UNESCO heritage site. But, thanks to Ohanian, one can get a sense of it as a place.

Island of an Island is a project on chance and encounter. While searching the internet for virgin territory, seeking places without national or cultural identity, Ohanian stumbled on the island of Surtsey, near Iceland, produced in 1963 by volcanic activity and given by consensus to the international scientific community for purposes of study. Ohanian combined research, travel, film and ingenious design into a stunning multi-media installation on questions of place and the origins of identity. 

More info

Here, There and Everywhere (Monograph, Frieze Magazine)

Melikohanian.com