Enchanting artifacts of universal magnetism, the allure of maps stems from the illusions they conjure, their profound evocative power: the solitude of a remote island, access to an uncharted realm, panoramic and omniscient visions. To a prince, a map signifies an archive of possessions; to a naturalist, a calendar of forthcoming discoveries; to all, the promise of an impending journey. Maps enlighten us about the unknown and help us see what we thought we knew. They possess elements of painting, photography, and geometry, serving as navigational tools and, paradoxically, guides to getting lost.
Some maps chart non-existent places, while others reflect imperceptible phenomena. They beckon us to construct our own atlas, free from prescribed criteria. In this regard, the current exhibition, aptly titled “Mapping,” presents a diverse range of approaches and styles within contemporary art. Certain works explore the concept as a form of emotional cartography, wherein artists convey their personal experiences and moods through the manipulation of lines and shapes. Others delve into mapping as an exploration of the relationship between physical space and mental territory, utilizing painting and other artistic languages, such as objects, installations, photography, and digital art, to represent and map internal and external landscapes. They materialize false or apocryphal cartographies with new, hitherto unimagined constellations that challenge the veracity of hegemonic scientific knowledge and the images we perceive and consume.
As cartographies of the unknown, Galería Azur Madrid’s latest exhibition proposes, on one hand, to create a space—both in practice and thought—that swims against the current, allowing one to reconnect with personal desires, deactivate the inertia of thought, and dismantle canonical narratives. On the other hand, it encourages the spectator to focus more on the map and less on the territory, for it often occurs that the map, like any good magic trick, tends to vanish, erasing the visual and spatial conventions upon which it relies to whisper to the observer and, with apparent triviality, reveal, “You are here,” “This is the Earth,” “This is your country.”

Artworks