The Black Cone, Monument to Civil Disobedience

The Black Cone stands in front of the Reykjavík City Hall, a sharp, obsidian-colored spike rising from a low concrete plinth. This sculpture honors the protest movement that took place in the square during the two thousand eight financial crisis, when thousands of citizens gathered here to bang pots and pans against the government’s inaction. Steinunn Þórhallsdóttir designed the piece to represent the collective voice of those demonstrators. A small megaphone sits at the base, permanently fixed to the stone.