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Roxana
Manouchehri
From
the
Gold
Land
Maps
and
Portraits
by
Roxana
Manouchehri
Maps
are
the
representation
of
an
external
reality
that
is
generally
hidden
from
the
field
of
view
of
humans;
especially
when
they
are
maps
of
the
world,
countries'
political
or
natural
geography,
a
hidden
reality
projected
in
the
context
of a
convention.
Despite
the
conventional
ways
of
producing
maps,
there
have
always
been
people
whose
efforts
have
progressed
the
methodology
of
map
production.
People
like
Habash
Haseb
Marwazi
during
the
9th
century,
Abu
Rayhan
Al-Biruni
during
the
10th
century
and
Piri
Reis
Sahab
an
Ottoman
cartographer
during
the
16th
century
have
all
contributed
to
the
techniques
of
mapping
through
their
vast
knowledge
and
creativity.
They
produced
maps
that
could
be
easily
understood
and
read
by
others.
This
act
is
known
as
'reading
maps'
and
Roxana
Manouchehri's
project
is
focused
on
the
process
of
map
reading
and
in
challenging
its
conventions.
In
the
era
in
which
provincial
maps,
geography
of
politics
and
nature,
ecology,
demography,
etc
can
be
read
easily
due
to
universally
understood
codes
and
symbols;
Roxana
Manouchehri
has
tried
to
produce
a
new
kind
of
map
in
an
artistic
context,
of
global
politics
of
the
19th
century.
Like
other
mappers,
she
has
tried
to
reflect
her
idea
in
three
spheres:
visual,
symbolic
and
indexical.
The
symbolic
sphere
is
represented
by
colours:
gold
is
the
symbol
of
ultimate
power
and
other
colours
represent
areas
of
imperial
authority.
In
the
sphere
of
image,
Manouchehri
has
used
countries'
contemporary
political
maps
and
has
adjusted
them
based
on
symbolic
colours
of
the
colonial
world
of
the
late
19th
century.
In
fact,
by
overlapping
the
political
maps
of
countries
today
and
the
colonial
map
of
the
late
19th
century,
she
has
invented
a
new
type
of
mapping
and
map-reading
that
is
defined
within
an
art
project.
Since
indexical
significations
of
this
project
are
referencing
the
idea
of
maps,
as a
representation
of
the
world
the
way
it
is
imagined
and
depicted,
hence
denotative
meaning
of
the
series
is
read
through
meanings
of
representation.
Implicitly,
however,
Manouchehri's
way
of
using
political
icons,
her
choice
of
iconic
colour,
and
its
placement
on
the
map
of
each
continent,
in a
way,
is a
reminder
of
the
technique
of
Pointillists.
Colours
don't
mix
and
borders
don't
reach
each
other,
but
the
collection
together
makes
the
impossible,
possible.
In
addition
to
political,
historical
and
geographical
referrals,
Manouchehri's
indexical
references
to
art
history
and
to
Pointillism
in
particular
shows
that
this
project,
more
than
anything,
is
Art.
It
is
an
art
project
that
connotatively
reminds
the
viewer
of
forgotten
questions
and
concepts
about
representation.
In
the
second
part
of
this
project,
she
has
selected
and
reproduced
portraits
of
royalties
that
are
related
to
the
maps
she
has
used
and
are
interpreted
accordingly.
The
difference
is
that
instead
of
the
faces
of
rulers
and
kings,
she
has
placed
mirrors
so
that
viewers
can
see
themselves
in
their
place.
In
the
portraits'
section,
colourful
codes
no
longer
exist
and
the
viewer
must
imagine
instead,
the
heritage
of
power
in
front
of
these
mirrors.
Roxana
Manouchehri
presents
From
The
Gold
Land
series
based
on
three
components:
representation,
reading
and
the
history
of
political
power.
Her
choice
of
contractual
maps
are
not
the
only
way
to
represent
a
world
outside
of
our
field
of
vision,
and
although
our
understanding
of
such
vast
reality
has
been
adjusted
according
to
the
realities
of
two
centuries
ago,
it
is
still
possible
to
refer
to
such
a
large-scale
outside
reality
through
them
in
other
ways.
Roxana
Manouchehri's
exhibition
introduces
one
of
these
possibilities.
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