Paddy Roy Bates pioneering utopian project 'Sealand'

Sealand is a story of a struggle for freedom and a story of utopian piracy.   Sealand is a micro nation located on an island fortress created in WW11.

The fortress is seven miles off the coast of Essex, 100 miles from France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany.   Nowhere really.   This project began in 1967 and continues to this day.   Sealand and its story has had a huge influence on artists, curators, politicians, philosophers, political squatters, radio broadcasters and Internet users.   This is a project that has had far reaching implications for many people.

Roy Bates came up with a plan.   He would set up a libertarian state established on the principle that any group of people who are dissatisfied with oppressive laws and restrictions could declare independence in a place not under the jurisdiction of a sovereign entity.   Roy found and claimed the fortress.   He exploited legal loopholes, fought and won courtroom battles.   'Terra nullus' was affirmed.   A red, white, and black flag flag is hoisted above the state.   Passports are handed out.   And, finally, Roy proclaims himself 'Sovereign Roy'.

The islands population grows as like-minded people join.   The sleeping compartments in the columns were expanded, each cylinder split into seven floors.   Above is a communal space where people can sit and talk and eat together. A small gym was also installed.   And this is a Sealand toilet.

A year later life on the island is disturbed and the first attack on the paradise of newfound freedom is imminent.   A navel ship advances and attacks.   The state of Sealand fire back and the invaders withdraw.   Sovereign Roy was arrested and tried in a British court.   In a landmark ruling, the court declared that they had no jurisdiction over a state exiting in international waters.

The victory was celebrated and commended.   The Sealand dollar is minted.   Stamps are printed in honor of the great discoverers- Columbus and Raleigh.  A national anthem is also composed and a motto- 'From the Sea, Freedom'.   An emblem is also created.   The situation has shifted from the imaginary to the real.   This de facto state is real.

Life on the state was good for a while and the group enjoyed the rewards of their efforts.   But in 1978, whilst Sovereign Roy was away from the island, a new clandestine and a new threatening invasion took place.   It was an inside job.   The person Sovereign Roy elected to look after the state when he was away initiated the attack.   Members of the group were kidnapped and the island was taken over.   Liberty once again returns when the monarch arrives and takes the island back by force.   Sovereign Roy even took a prisoner of war.   European governments petitioned for the prisoner's release.   A German delegation try to negotiate.   The Geneva Convention demands the release of the prisoner.   Finally, he is freed.

By 2003 the number of inhabitants of Sealand had dwindled to 25.   But, the number of people carrying Sealand passports is rumored to be around about 150,000.   Passports are being forged and sold on the black market.   Organized criminals cross international boundaries on this micro states identity.   For example, Versace's killer traveled on Sealand papers and drove a Sealand car with Sealand diplomatic plates.   Passports were also sold to Hong Kong residents after the Chinese re-occupation.   Defense of Sealand's physical territory was a prime concern and the island declared itself as 'authentic' but paradoxically 'not real', subject to the space and limitation of the object.   The conspiracy theory is that the forging of passports was the master revenge from the once prisoner of war.   He has attacked the states identity.   The utopia has turned into a place of deception, fraud, and conspiracy.

Today Sealand is a place for super geek's.  It is a 'data haven' that offers very liberal Internet hosting services which allows the information provider unprecedented freedoms and evades tax laws.   'HavenCo' offers servers to businesses, governments and organizations a facility from which to host their e commerce, financial transactions and data back up.

This project has been represented in a few exhibitions.   The 'Universal micro nations' exhibition in Barcelona in 2004, exhibited the Sealand project in the form of information boards, application forms, passports and other Sealand memorabilia.   Likewise in ' Temporary Autonomous Space', curated by Alun Rowlands, Sealand is represented in the form of videos, flags, and other artifacts.

Question- how are micro nations exhibited in galleries?- could we arrange boat trips to go and see the project- this is how we get to see Smithson's Spiral Jetty.

Question- In what sense is this an art project?   The ideas involved in the project are very relevant but Sovereign Roy did not announce this as an art project.

This leads to the Question - why have curators included this project in exhibitions?

Question- is Sovereign Roy really doing anything to challenge the system?   It seems as though Roy is just an ordinary person who fancies being a king.   He gets caught up in the usual trappings and follows the usual format- all states have passports, a flag, a national anthem and so on.   It doesn't even seem as though there are any real principles upon which the utopia was formed (apart from liberty).  

Sovereign Roy's Sealand is unusual because it is a utopia that hasn't failed.   It has changed throughout its existence to suit circumstances but it has always existed.   Most utopias don't work.   But they are attractive non the less.   They represent our longing for a perfect system and are an expression of our despair of the system we live in.   Who doesn't want to live their lives in the way they see as best?   Who doesn't wasn't to live in a better world? It is an intriguing narrative.