Publications 2002

unconditional love (and the corporate stance)

I believe in love and I know you do too
- Nick Cave; Into My Arms -

It's that simple. In a cynical, corrupt era the Icelandic Love Corporation stand fast in their belief that love redeems us all. This is adhered to without irony and in the full knowledge of the potential brutality of the human race. That's not to say they are serious about all this. Their work is fuelled by champagne, a natural capacity for mayhem and a devout respect for Dolly Parton.

From the beginning their performances have been marked by irreverence for the traditional gravity of art forms and by an unusual and touching affection for their audience. It's as if they really want to communicate. In the work that brought them to national attention in Iceland they kissed each other live on television before one of them pressed her lips to the screen and kissed the entire nation.

A period of pseudo-scientific investigation followed, in which the Love Corporation, dressed in white lab coats, variously iced each other as cakes, thawed out a giant lipstick with hairdryers in "Blow Job", amputated an angel's wings and clinically traced a lamb's fate from farm to dinner table. These performances and videos were paralleled by a series of exhibitions in which the Corporation persuaded everyday artefacts to stretch their ontological ambitions. Leather chairs from the Gerduberg Cultural Centre blossomed into sadomasochistic fantasies, sprouting spiky harnesses and hyper-feminine flounces. A tent found itself populated by inflatable porno people, happily engaged in a cosy barbecue amid a landscape of synthetic grass and stuffed birds. Outside the gallery, girl scouts raised and lowered Love Corporation flags while a dj spun brass band tunes and the crowd waved mini-flags to the beats. On the rooftop, the Love Corp. themselves broadcast to the city of Reykjavik by megaphone, screaming "LOVE CONQUERS ALL! THE FUTURE IS BEAUTIFUL!"

This first wave of intense activity probably peaked when they all gave birth orally to tiny tattooed clones in 1998. The exhibition was called "A Fresh Start" and in a way, it was, because shortly afterwards the Love Corporation ascended to the status of Higher Beings and made their first appearance as such in Amsterdam's red light district. There, in shimmering dresses and golden shoes, they drilled and mounted six metal plaques ("In Memory of Feelings Felt") commemorating the wide, wild spectrum of emotions to be found in the strip clubs and side streets of the district. In a series of performances they christened the plaques with champagne and distributed vaginal-shaped red cakes to passers by. The Higher Beings employed spectacle to remind their audience that it is possible to transform difficult situations and attitudes to life.

Francis McKee

THE ICELANDIC LOVE CORPORATION

Edited by Francis McKee and Rebecca Gordon Nesbitt

Texts by Francis McKee/ Icelandic Love Corporation


The first book documenting the various guises and performances of the Icelandic Love Corporation on their mission to spread love around the world. This book, with short stories and an interview by Francis McKee is illustrated with drawings and photographs.

www.ilc.is

15 x 21 cm, 96 pages
ISBN 951-8955-69-7
Network North publication 04
NIFCA Publication 20
Published by NIFCA in collaboration with Diamond Heart Projects, Glasgow, 2002