Micronations Travelling Agency @ Sparwasser HQ, Offensive für Offensive Kunst und Kommunikation Berlin, February 2. - 7. 2006, Sasha Huber, Tellervo Kalleinen, Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen, Petri Saarikko press release Philippe Laserre has pointed out that »the phenomenon of micro-nations can be located between a joke and a serious vision of the future«. The term »micronation«, which YKON is working on, has been applied to almost anything from invented kingdoms, model states, cybertopias, libertarian oases to real existing miniature states. Each micronation attempts in its own way to create a zone of autonomy. Some of them even challenge the definition of statehood itself. YKON (Sasha Huber, Tellervo Kalleinen, Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen, Petri Saarikko) is a Helsinki based artist group which has been formed to convene the 2nd Summit of  Micronations at the Brioni Islands in 2007. press photo and CVs of the artists links: www.ykon.org www.muu.fi/amorph03 at Torstrasse 161, 10115 Berlin Mitte, Germany (U-Rosenthaler Platz) contact: +49 30 21803001 / +49 30 97894402 Opening Hours during the project: daily 2 ­8pm The artist will be present all open hours of the exhibition Opening: February 1., 7 pm - 11 pm Lecture: Thursday, February 2. , at 4 pm: "Micronations - From Utopian Communities to Space Settlements" Curated by Embassy of Contemporary Art (Maren Richter und Manray Hsu) Micronation Travelling Agency is a partner project of transmediale.06/Reality Addicts.  Funded by FRAME The opening event is kindly supported by the Embassy of Finland in Berlin                 Ykon is a group of artists which helped to implement the 1st Summit of Micronations in Helsinki, 2003 at the 7th Amorph Art Performance Festival (www.wuu.fi/amorph03). The group worked on two books on the subject of Micronations published by MUU ry. Ykon is currently preparing the 2nd Summit of Micronations and Utopian Thinkers in 2007 at Brioni Islands in Croatia (which used to be Tito's summer residency). What fascinates Ykon most about micronations is the large number of references, which can be found in the examination of various models for alternative architectures of society (Geselleschaftsentwürfen). From Utopian communities to up to territorial settlements, this form of critique with DIY attitudes has been applied to almost anything from invented kingdoms, model states, cybertopias, libertarian oases to real existing miniature states. Each micronation attempts in its own way to create a zone of autonomy. Some of them even challenge the definition of statehood itself, or deconstruct ideological and/or spacial Borderlines, using symbolic means or real-political interventions into political constellations. Philippe Laserre has pointed out that "the phenomenon of micro-nations can be located between a joke and a serious vision of the future." This is what Ykon intends to bring to light in their new project at Sparwasser HQ, as a contribution to the issues of "Reality Addicts." With a playful and infomative-documentary approach, they attempt to reveal political and social realities, which are inscribed in complex clusters like nations, nationalisms, authorities and the debates on democracy. The name of the exhibition "Micronation travelling agency" is also reflecting the ongoing process of YKON, which sees itself as an organically growing and modifying probe. Sparwasser will become a multifunctional Micronation Travelling Agency for one week, which consists of documentation material, Micronations Selector Program, Reading Room and Travelling on a map of micronations. You can also sign up for a "Micronations Manifesting in Berlin"-tour with the Micronation Travelling Agency. The idea of the tours is to extend the topic of Micronations with the surroundings of the gallery space and to locate and to pin point related phenomena in Berlin. Seats are limited!