In 1831, an island appeared in the middle of the Mediterranean, between Tunisia and Sicily. Which waters it belonged to under international law was debated; Britain, France, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and Spain competed with claims of sovereignty. Then the island sank, as if it had never been there at all. But that legal and geographical uncertainty remained, and this ambiguity stands right at the center of Elisa Giardina Papa’s new exhibition. “She Flickered In and Out of History” has opened at the ICA.
The Legal Life and Death of an Island
Ferdinandea also known as Graham Island is less a geological curiosity than a parenthesis in political history. A volcanic formation rising from the sea and then subsiding would normally belong only to geological dictionaries. But this particular island, during its brief existence, flew four different flags. The question of whose land it was remained unanswered even after the land itself vanished beneath the waves. Giardina Papa takes the island as a starting point; her actual question concerns how geographical realities become historical and political fictions.
The video and mixed-media installation weaves together the island’s geological, mythological, and political temporal layers. This is not simply a historical story; it is a question about how a place can simultaneously exist and not exist. That question speaks directly to our present to the tension between legal existence and physical reality in the world of refugees, maritime borders, and climate displacement.
ICA’s Mediterranean Season
The ICA launches a complementary cinema programme alongside the exhibition. On 22 July, Iggy Cortez presents five short works on islands of fire and wetlands. On 29 July, Riar Rizaldi’s *Monisme* — set around Mount Merapi, an active volcano in Indonesia — screens in dialogue with the installation. 12 August brings an ocean-themed film triple bill; 26 August features Mati Diop’s *Dahomey* (2024), her celebrated film tracing the repatriation of 26 looted treasures from the Kingdom of Benin.
This film programme extends the exhibition’s thematic frame: loss, restitution, claiming, and the renegotiation of historical rights. Giardina Papa’s island operates within that context as both concrete and metaphor.
18 July: Artist Talk
Right after the exhibition opening, on Saturday, July 18, the ICA presents an artist talk. Elisa Giardina Papa is in conversation with film scholar Erika Balsom, with curator Andrea Nitsche-Krupp moderating. This talk addressed in depth both the production process of the installation and the relationship the artist establishes with the Mediterranean and the colonial archive.
Who Is Elisa Giardina Papa?
The Italian-born artist has been known for years for her research-driven video practice examining digital economies, labour, and surveillance. Her *Technologies of Care* series (2016–19) and *C U Soon* (2017) were sustained investigations into the intersection of work, technology, and gender. The ICA exhibition marks the artist’s most ambitious engagement yet with geopolitical and geological temporalities.
FAQ: Elisa Giardina Papa at the ICA
- When and where can I see the exhibition?
*She Flickered In and Out of History* runs from 17 July to 6 September 2026 at the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts), The Mall, London. For tickets and opening hours, visit ica.art.
- What events accompany the exhibition?
Iggy Cortez (22 July), Riar Rizaldi’s *Monisme* (29 July), ocean-themed triple bill (12 August), Mati Diop’s *Dahomey* (26 August).
- Did the island really exist?
Yes. Ferdinandea/Graham Island rose from volcanic activity in the Mediterranean in 1831 and sank the same year. Four countries claimed sovereignty over the small formation located between Tunisia and Sicily. It currently lies just below the sea surface and geologists note it could rise again.
NO-26 Note
The ICA’s summer season consistently carries questions larger than the space itself can contain. This one is simple but unsettling: can a place exist without being claimed? Giardina Papa’s answer is both geological and political, located simultaneously in history and the present.
