Olaf Nicolai

Since the publication of the novel Robinson Crusoe under the guise of an autobiographical report, its hero has been considered a paradigm of the lonely individual whose adventurous stories have since inspired not only fantasies of retreat but also socio-political and economic theories.

It is assumed that the hero of the novel is based on seafarer Alexander Selkirk, who, all on his own, survived for many years on the south-Pacific island of Isla Mss a Tierra.

The title of Olaf Nicolai's exhibition also alludes to Selkirk's story. Mirador de Selkirk is the name of the vantage point, 565 metres high, from which Selkirk allegedly looked out for ships every day for four years in the hope of escaping the uninhabited island. In 1709 he was eventually saved and returned to his homeland; he spent the next few years touring the country and telling of his experiences. Ten years later, Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe was published.