In the folds of maps

What if maps were not just tools for finding your way around, but also fields for artistic exploration, territories in which to dream, stories to be written? 

A map gives shape to the vastness that surrounds us, translating space into two dimensions to enable us to understand the world and find our way around it. Conceptual constructions as much as they are utilitarian objects, maps are creations by nature: they embody selective knowledge and a particular perspective. They are partial and biased interpretations of the world which can betray underlying dominations and aspirations. 

At the crossroads of reality and the imaginary, cartography combines scientific rigour with creative potential. Between art brut, contemporary art, and scientific research, this exhibition brings together a dozen projects that use cartography in both documentary and fictional ways. For the researchers and artists presented here, the map is a medium for tracing alternative narratives about exile as well as climate and geopolitical crises. It is also a powerful vehicle for utopia, capable of modelling unprecedented scenarios to rethink future landscapes, our relationship with living beings, and the emergence of new technologies for the common good.