Unisland

photo credit: Chrysoulla Photography

Unisland (2023), Kypros Kyprianou
Paper map, concertina folded, with visitor footprints, 180 gsm paper, 250cm x 100cm


The paper map Unisland (2023) is based on the background layer of Geographic Information System maps (GIS). GIS software ‘blends the power of a map with the power of a database’ to allow people to create, manage and analyse information, particularly information about location.

In this instance the GIS layer demarcating British Sovereign territory, the UN buffer zone, and the areas cleaved in two, are taken and reoriented by surface area to form a line. The background information other than terrain has been stripped out, creating an (un)terra nullius.

For UNLAND, Unisland was shown on the floor of the gallery, with people somewhat appropriately walking all over the whole island map unimpeded by the zones and territories otherwise encountered on a daily basis.

photo credit: Chrysoulla Photography