A London choose sided with Icelandic fishing large Samherji in an mental property lawsuit in opposition to conceptual artist Odee Friðriksson (ODEE), whose work “We’re Sorry” (2023) referred to as consideration to the corporate’s alleged involvement within the transnational “Fishrot” scandal. In a abstract judgment launched November 14, Choose Paul Richard Teverson argued that the artist’s use of Samherji’s brand and web site in his work have been “instruments of fraud.”
In an announcement shared with Hyperallergic, Friðriksson wrote, “Art makes waves, and it has rocked the boat of my collaborators in art, Samherji.”
“Their continued efforts to amplify ‘We’re Sorry’ have ensnared them in the very critique they sought to silence, putting an even greater spotlight on their wrongdoings — not only in Namibia but also in their stance on freedom of expression and corporate responsibility,” the artist stated.
The corruption scandal first got here to mild in 2019, when a former Samherji supervisor leaked paperwork suggesting the corporate had colluded with Namibian officers to safe a part of the nation’s fishing quota, a transfer that hit the native fishing business onerous. In accordance with WikiLeaks, the fishing firm paid off Namibian officers and promised to construct infrastructure within the nation. Samherji has denied allegations of bribery.
In 2021, the corporate launched a “Statement and Apology From Samherji” denying that any legal offenses have been dedicated besides by the worker who made the allegations. Samherji has not but responded to Hyperallergic’s request for remark.
A display screen seize of the satirical web site
In accordance with courtroom paperwork, Friðriksson, an MFA scholar on the College of Bergen, linked the official net deal with of Samherji in the UK to a replicated model with a homepage that learn “WE’RE SORRY” in Could 2023. The faux web site invited guests to click on on a “full press statement,” additionally written by Friðriksson and titled “Samherji Apologizes, Pledges Restitution and Cooperation with Authorities,” full with an unaltered firm brand. The satirical launch lists a media contact for Samherji and apologizes for “corruption, bribery, and neocolonialism,” additionally committing to restitution and “justice” for actions that “undermined Namibia’s government.”
Samherji sued Friðriksson over his use of the model’s mental property, together with within the mock press launch and the UK area title. Friðriksson argued in courtroom that as an artist, his freedom of expression beneath the European Conference of Human Rights outweighed Samherji’s mental property rights and that his work was protected beneath parody and pastiche legal guidelines.
“We’re Sorry” has additionally been featured on a wall on the Reykjavík Artwork Museum.
Friðriksson’s lawyer Andra Matei instructed Hyperallergic {that a} listening to will happen on December 17 to debate “costs and other consequences,” and that Friðriksson plans to enchantment the choice.
“We are up against corporations with millions and millions of dollars and legal systems that have historically not paid attention to the crucial role that artists, such as ODEE, play in the strengthening of democracies,” Matei stated in an announcement to Hyperallergic. “While we are disappointed, this decision has only furthered our resolve to take this fight all the way to the very end.”
Friðriksson was additionally behind MOM Air, a parody airline launched in 2020 full with a reserving web site, flight maps, and media releases asserting absurd charges for lifejackets, bathroom paper, and “COVID flights” for contaminated sufferers. On his web site, Friðriksson wrote that the parody was meant to encourage the general public to problem model authenticity and the ethics of airways. The artist carried on with the operation for some weeks earlier than it was busted and claimed that logistical firms had reached out to supply plane leases and airport slots.
