Maps are projections. They project the surface of the Earth and displaying useful information like geographic locations and borders.
But these projections are not neutral. From the choice of projection method to translate spherical information into a plane and its resulting distortions, to the choice of information to be included, maps are tools of power that have helped shape nations, naturalise borders and territory. Therefore, instead of a representation of reality, maps project the intention of those who create them.
They are typically seen as a definitive piece of information, but we often forget that countries are fictions, and every border was once a disputed one.
How can mapping, or counter-mapping, interfere in this power dynamics? Can it show the nuances and reveal new knowledge behind apparently objective data?
Annotated Bibliography
Anderson, B. (2006) Imagined Communities. 2nd edn. London: Verso.
Census, Map, Museum
Maps attempt to represent reality through the lens of those who created them. Most maps do not show that this reality is a snapshot in a much longer timeline of events and disputes, during which time only specific groups held the power to map.
There are at least three dimensions where one can challenge the map. First, those maps try to represent territory and borders built over time and show the point of view of one of many groups involved in this historical process. Next, one should analyse how the history is presented today and what has been left out, altered, and/or put out of context. Finally, what are the biases and intentions of the authorities today? What are they trying to legitimise, and what is their future projection?
I am interested in strategies that reveal the biases behind cartography and other official documents, like creating alternatives or interjecting existing ones. Even if they are precise in showing an abstraction of a region’s territorial divisions, they will never be more than that—an abstraction—one of the many possible by one of the many institutions or communities capable of mapping.
Metahaven (2010) Uncorporate Identity. 1st edn. Zurich: Lars Müller Publishers.
Sealand
Maps are just one of the many strategies employed in building a nation. Crests, coins and flags, among others, act as metaphors for states and have come to justify them. Furthermore, maps embed another national symbol, the country’s shape.
I am interested in investigating how these symbols relate to each other and how they contribute to shaping the image of nations. This intertwined symbology offers rich possibilities for visual explorations, and alongside methods like deconstruction, distortion, and resampling, it can be used to subvert the structural processes behind the creation of nation-states, evidencing the power of semiotics as a tool of graphic communication design.
Forensic Architecture (2025) The Evros/meriç River: A Century Of Border Design. Available at: https://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/the-evros-meric-river-a-century-of-border-design (Accessed: 29 Apr 2025).
The Evros/Meriç River: A Century of Border Design (topic: borders)
This project has reassured me of the relevance of showing disputes over borders as a way to challenge the map’s neutrality. By putting the map in a historical context, I aim to reveal that what we see on a map wasn’t always there but artificially created.
It also introduced me to counter-cartography, which I had previously thought of loosely as unmapping, that is, deconstructing the map and using form to reveal the nuances behind neatly defined borders.
Due to time and resource limitations, I displayed mostly widely known conflicts, but possible next steps for this project could involve uncovering lesser-known histories. Approaching this topic through the perspective of vulnerable populations, like asylum seekers, would enrich this project and contribute to shifting the power relation typically embedded in mapping.
Michael Craig-Martin (2012) Globalisation [Digital inkjet print on two sheets]. Available at: https://www.michaelcraigmartin.co.uk/artworks/6-prints-and-editions/a123-globalisation-2012/ (Accessed: 1 May 2025). First discovered in Ulrich Obrist, H. (ed.) (2014) Mapping it Out: An Alternative Atlas of Contemporary Cartographies. 1st edn. New York: Thames & Hudson.
Globalisation (method: mapping)
Maps are ubiquitous and normalised as truthful and objective representations of reality. Cartography is an area of knowledge that has existed since ancient times. Because cartography is a scientific field, map users usually do not question it or consider its biases.
Subverting maps can be a radical approach to revealing hidden information, an important part of my practice. It can take many forms, and this specific approach of replacing the names of places defies the concept of nation as something given, unquestionable. It relates to an earlier line of enquiry, when I aimed to use mapping, unmapping or counter-cartography to expose imperialism and propose alternative futures that claim back territories and economies.
Solnit, R. and Snedeker, R. (2013) Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas. 1st edn. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press.
Where They At (critical position)
Mapping can maintain the status quo and reinforce positions of power, but it can also be an act of resistance. By mapping bounce, New Orleans’s signature music version of hip-hop, the author elevates the voices of the city’s marginalised communities.
My practice uses graphic communication design to reverse power (im)balances. The following steps in the studio work for this brief involve reflecting on my relation to communities that can benefit from having their voices amplified. In a shift from the continental focus of the previous iterations, I am drawn to the idea of telling lesser-known stories in a more local context.
Lee, C. (2022) Immutable: Designing History. Available at: https://www.librarystack.org/immutable-designing-history (Accessed: 29 Apr 2025).
Measurement & Standardization (critical position)
Standards improve efficiency and ease of communication and exchange in and between societies. However, because different societal groups have unique cultures and conventions, the choice of standards can be violent. They are forced upon the dominated groups, reduce plurality, and erase knowledge.
Historical research has been part of my practice and is one way to try to reveal forgotten practices, but using research through making allows me to explore the multiple forms knowledge can take.
I want to combine different research methodologies and use graphic communication design in a very different way than during the acculturation process, one that champions plurality.
Medium
This annotated bibliography will become a print publication and will be updated regularly as I gather more references.
Specs: A4 Recyco 120g / 250g (back page); fastener binding; 4/0