Terra Incognita, et cetera

Overview

Biennial visitors are invited to participate in the creation of a new world map on the walls of the exhibition space. In this game, each player chooses a miniature flag or cocktail umbrella at random and pulls toy money out of a hat to decide his or her territory and allowance. A player might get to name this new land, but only if it hasn’t yet been claimed. In the end, the rules of the game are dictated by the artist.

Terra Incognita, et cetera is an exercise in collective painting and a spin on territorial marking. The game is intended to fulfill the human desire to claim and name, while at the same time demystifying the power of maps. We can ensure that there will never be a shortage of new world maps, and we can choose which we wish to recognise – at least, until the game is over and the wall is repainted.


2013

This project was part of Sharjah Biennial 11