Gordon Cheung UK, b. 1975
Great Wall of Sand (Unknown Knowns), 2017
Financial Times stock listings, archival inkjet, acrylic and sand on linen
78 1/2 x 177 1/2 x 2 in
(200 x 450 x 5 cm)
(200 x 450 x 5 cm)
9456
Further images
Great Wall of Sand interweaves ancient cartography, 3D Google maps and Chinese plans for the One Belt One Road initiative in a spatially complex composition combining past, contemporary and future...
Great Wall of Sand interweaves ancient cartography, 3D Google maps and Chinese plans for the One Belt One
Road initiative in a spatially complex composition combining past, contemporary and future mapping of
geopolitical power dynamics. The floating islands depicted are artificial, controversially built in the 2010s by the
Chinese by dredging up coral in the South China Sea as part of a strategy to create a new maritime silk road,
claiming ownership of this dispute naval corridor. Cheung’s use of maps in the construction of these compositions
draws our attention to the principle established in Boetti’s Mappa series – that our understanding of the world’s
geography is itself entrenched in political ideology.
Road initiative in a spatially complex composition combining past, contemporary and future mapping of
geopolitical power dynamics. The floating islands depicted are artificial, controversially built in the 2010s by the
Chinese by dredging up coral in the South China Sea as part of a strategy to create a new maritime silk road,
claiming ownership of this dispute naval corridor. Cheung’s use of maps in the construction of these compositions
draws our attention to the principle established in Boetti’s Mappa series – that our understanding of the world’s
geography is itself entrenched in political ideology.
Exhibitions
Exhibitions Unknown Known ( 03/10/2017 to 04/16/2017 )