Nicholas Mangan
Nauru International Airport Tarmac, 2014
The Pacific island of Nauru is a parable for the shortcomings of the Anthropocene.
Nauru was once the richest nation in the world after Saudi Arabia due to the wealth it amassed through strip mining the nutrient rich soil of its island interior. During an age of decadence and mismanagement in the late twentieth century the riches were squandered. Before long Nauru was bankrupt. What remains today is a baron mostly uninhabitable lunar landscape of coral pinnacles. In a desperate bid to keep the island’s economy afloat the Nauruans resorted to other means of economic survival. They are said to have laundered the last of the Soviet Empire through offshore banking operations. It has been claimed they struck a deal with the US to set up a spy station to monitor defecting North Korean nuclear scientists. And since the early twenty-first century they have received income from the Australian Government to detain refugees and asylum seekers attempting to seek refuge on Australia’s shores.
The Nauru International airport tarmac is sealed with a glimmering surface of crushed prehistoric coral. It is a monument to the anthropocene.
It is a portal between two dimensions, delineating the zone between the island and the modern world. The tarmac bares the marks of friction caused by shifting ground. In recent years it was believed that the portal would be blocked forever.
As the economy dwindled during the age of decadence, the small fleet of aircraft that formed the national carrier was sold, leaving the Nauruan’s stranded, sealed off from the outside world; terminally beached.
Artist Bio
Nicholas Mangan is an Australian contemporary artist known for his interdisciplinary approach, exploring themes of ecology, economics, and human activity’s impact. His work spans sculpture, installation, video, and drawing, often examining the intersections between natural and human-made systems. Mangan represented Australia at the 2015 Venice Biennale and was shortlisted for the Hugo Boss Prize in 2016. His exhibitions, including Art Basel Parcours in 2017 and participation in the Sharjah Biennial in 2019, delve into pressing global issues such as resource exploitation and colonial legacies. In 2020, a major survey of his work titled “Limits to Growth” was presented at the Monash University Museum of Art, showcasing his engagement with environmental change and economic systems.
Themes: ruins, waste, technofossils
extraction, transport, infrastructure
Category: Found Objects