Map of Greece

‘Map of Greece’ is a geographical map created as an introduction to a talk about the performative nature of maps.

The cartographic product is made with a very simple style in order to bring the discussion back to a contradictory aspect that may (or may not) be quite evident: the country represented by the map is Japan, not Greece.

The cartographic error is detectable only if a series of circumstances persist: the observer knows the shape of Japan; the observer knows the shape of Greece; the observer can read the Greek alphabet.

This already tells us a lot about the interdependent relationship that exists between the map, the subject represented and the user of the map. Any geographical map is designed to be used and depending on the user it works differently: what it is, what it represents, what it says are constantly changing.

But is this really a mistake? A map is an object that acts in multiple directions representing different objects and different processes that belong to different space-time dimensions. While it is true that a map can represent a territory, it is also true that the way a map is made can tell us a lot about who designed it, for whom, in what historical-geographical context, for what purpose.

‘Map of Greece’ intends to act like a stone thrown into the pond that breaks the surface of a simplistic correlation between reality and representation, in order to highlight the complex performative mechanisms that lie behind the practice of cartography.