Wikipedia
Nowhereisland was an artwork by artist Alex Hartley, produced by the Bristol-based arts organisation, Situations. Nowhereisland was an ‘Artists Taking the Lead’ project, funded by Arts Council England as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.
The work involved the discovery of a new island that had been revealed from within the melting ice of a retreating glacier on the Svalbard peninsula in Norway. The island was taken out into International Waters by an expedition team, where it was declared a new nation. This new nation - Nowhereisland - . was towed around the South West coast of England prior to and during the 2012 Olympic Games.
At the end of Nowhereisland's journey, in September 2012, the island was broken up and distributed amongst the 23,003 people from 135 countries signed up as "citizens of Nowhereisland". As a final gesture, a small piece of the island was sent to the edge of space, where some particles of rock from the island will remain in the upper-stratosphere.