Havoneea is, in the first instance, an artistic gesture. Secondly, a country. An art project conceived to exist in the virtual world, a collection ofNFTs brought together under a solid and structured conceptual logic, in a specific narrative.

Among the few certainties we have so far about the principality is its geography and geological composition. It is a pumice rock of little more than ten square kilometers. Its southern portion shows on a small elevation, the crater left by the collision of a small meteorite; it is speculated that this impact ended up detaching the rock from the continent, leaving it at the mercy of the waves. As a curious fact, not relevant, is the fact that the geographical visuality is inspired by the Canary Island of Alegranza.

With respect to this idea of the geological composition of the island, the absurdity stands out, first of all: the meteorite, the detachment, the size, human life on a "raft" of pumice stone? And, secondly, at a semantic level, the pumice as a signifier. We are talking here about a type of volcanic stone that is very porous, almost hollow, with an unpolished surface, which is shown as a fragile and at the same time adaptable element, with a great capacity to absorb and float... Perhaps like its people, like its history? With all these characteristics, one might think that, in effect, the stone here becomes the metonymic extension of the people and the history of Havoneea.

Since the existence of the principality takes place in the digital world, absolutely any element of that nature (i.e. digital), more or less directly related to Havoneea, is susceptible to be converted into a NFT. From the banners, the symbols of the principality, coats of arms, etc., to the spaces, terrains of the island, including the texts (fictitious or not) directly associated with Havoneea... However, this does not mean that it will actually happen that way. It will be seen, as the rhizome that will form the identity of the Havoneea universe grows, which will happen as the relevant research progresses. It is even intended that, when the time comes, the principality will have a news bulletin (apocryphal, of course, parodies of the real contemporary world, with an essence very similar to that of The Onion and El Mundo Today). In this sense, it is highly likely that political correctness is not a priority for the Havonneos. As it is a country that floats and builds itself day by day, apparently contemporary totalitarianism does not yet manifest itself there, at least not through the regime of political ultra-correctness under which we live in the West at this minute. So, you can imagine the spirit of the news and other materials that will be broadcasted from Havoneea (if not from all, at least from some).

On the other hand, we are also contemplating the possibility of bringing part of the Havoneea universe to the real, physical world. Firstly, by way of merchandising, that is, through the sale of promotional products directly related to Havoneea as a brand, beyond the concept of "country" that defines it. And secondly, it is also the intention of the creative team, at a point when the "history" of the site is a little better defined and at least a couple of stamp collections have already been released, to hold an exhibition on the subject.

In this work/gesture there are, let's say, three issues of importance, three cardinal axes (inescapably connected to each other) that stand out: on the one hand, the fabulation, the capacity of invention, if you will, literary, the strength of the myth; on the other hand, which follows from the above, the critical (and cynical) thinking, seen either as parody, or as pastiche, always as an incisive signifier; and, thirdly, the visuality, the sobriety and elegance of each graphic element.

As it is evident, the project is crossed by a deeply cynical spirit, very much in tune with our zeitgeist, with our apathetic contemporaneity. Here, absurdity, on the one hand, and irony, on the other, stand as detonating elements of thought and drivers of the narrative. Note, for example, that climate change has been the fundamental cause of Havoneea's revelation... Or the very fact of proposing a fictitious country that, perversely seen, actually constitutes a space of freedom, a platform for experimentation, a place where we can do everything we cannot do at home. However, despite the general nonsense that such a project seems to embrace, it happens that Havoneea, given that it is presented from a fiction not declared as such, and with a more or less well elaborated story, plays with some limits that, if the spectator neglects his observation for an instant, can be blurred without anyone noticing it. I am referring, naturally, to the limits between the real and the fictional.

At this point, it should be noted that, in Havoneea, different levels of fabulation coexist, layers of overlapping and interconnected realities. Between life in the Havoneea universe and life in the real world, there is a parallelism in which fiction functions, in fact, as a correlate of reality: what in Havoneea is philatelic marketing, in the real world is the sale of NFTs; what in Havoneea is fundraising to finance research on the history of the place, in the real world is fundraising to finance the work of the creative team. In any case, and in spite of any possible incongruence, what stands out here is the verisimilitude of the project, by which we do not mean that it is a realistic story, not even one disguised as truth, but that (and this is key if we talk about coherence) that universe is consistent with its own internal laws.

Although, after examining all of the above, it is very likely that the reader will be left with more doubts than he/she may have had at the beginning, the fact is that, at this moment, we are working on clarifying as much as possible all the information regarding Havoneea.

Stay tuned for further updates.