FINANCIAL WAR

Sigudrur Ingolfsson

Concept: The burst of Island’s economy is a result of the “military” defeat in the financial expansion.

Iceland has recently suffered a financial crash in which 95% of its banking system collapsed. In its wake, the nation took on compensation to foreign depositors that exceeds the Versailles war damages imposed on Germany after World War I in in relation to GDP. The presentation develops the concept of EX-VASION, intended to convey the double sense of the Icelandic "Útrás". In Icelandic, "Útrás" is coined in the same way as "Innrás" (e. invasion) and "Árás" (e. attack). As opposed to these terms, however, in addition to the military-technical sense (of "breaking out of an enclave"), "útrás" also has a subjective and affective application, meaning to "express oneself" or to "vent one's  feelings and urges". In exploring this semantic duality –  that played a significant ideological role during the expansionary phase leading to the crash –  an attempt is made to illustrate some relationships between finance and war. The presentation seeks to transcend the customary power-point format in communicating economic information, and to address the historical dynamics of the Icelandic "ex-vasion era" simultaneously on multiple levels of signification."