Mapping
"Mapping 1" is a contemporary reconfiguration of Sebastian Münster's 1628 allegorical map, "Europa Regina." I encountered the original—which depicts Europe as a queen with Bohemia at its center, glorifying the House of Habsburg and expressing a hope for peace—while researching my grandmother's suppressed flight story from Starý Rokytník to Germany at the end of World War II. I added Burmester curves and a sewing pattern to the source map.
Mapping 1
2024
Fine Art Print on paper
60 x 80 cm
Exhibited at House of Arts, Ústí nad Labem as part of IDENT 4. 12. 2024 – 8. 3. 2025 and Gallery Karin Sachs, Munich as part of Archived ruptures – Ruptured archives 28. – 29. 11. 2024
Created as part of the residency at the House of Arts, supported by The Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem and Schafhof Europäisches Kunstforum Oberbayern
I intervene by physically cutting the map and incorporating narrative elements, moving beyond the map's original political or later didactic functions. This physical manipulation of the rigid cartography asserts the flexibility of geographical depictions against claims of cartographic "objectivity," proposing a more bodily and subjective mapping of ideas and relationships.
This subjectivity is further shown by the Patchwork Jacket, a functional mobile carrier that adds the narrative of two identities—signified by culture and fashion history—to the map. The jacket notably incorporates Petr Ank Růžička's former punk leather jacket, which he donated to me. This powerful reminder of his pre-Velvet Revolution musical activities in Teplice, Czech Republic, signifies an imagined identity for the artist, contrasted by the Bavarian traditional clothing style.
“Mapping 2” explores the elusive building of my own memory and its connection to identity construction, translating it into a figuration. My encounter with Petr Ank Růžička, a Czech punk singer, activist, and record publisher in Teplice in 2024, initiated my reflection on the desired but not available aspects of my identity. This process continued by investigating objects in my family home as mediums for the critical handling of my family's memory work, aiming to articulate the quieted understanding of relationships reflected in my environment.
Mapping 2
2025
Fine Art Print on paper
13 x 18 cm
Exhibited at Schafhof Europäisches Kunstforum Oberbayern as part of Transformation | Fokus Europa VI 01.03. – 27.04.2025
