Theatrum Orbis Terrarum

'Theatrum orbis Terrarum, Collage, 2006

Taking inspiration from Ortelius’ 'Theatrum orbis Terrarum’ (Theatre of the World), the first modern atlas, it is my aim to gain an insight into the way in which the world is organised. Not by means of abstract maps and purely geographical data, but by arranging photographic registrations of the world according to personal criteria. At the moment, the archive is made up of three ordering systems, viz. ‘Gestures’, ‘References’ and ‘Speculations’.

online representation of this archive:
index.marjolijndijkman.com

‘Gestures’ contains images that show traces and effects of human interventions. The images can be taken anywhere; they all emphasise that people, regardless of their geographical location, have similar ways of organising and designing their daily environment.
The ‘References’ archive makes us understand how (garden) architecture, business and private interiors, institutes such as the museum and recreation parks express their respective views of less than familiar locations and cultures. This part of the archive generates an atlas of the representation of geographical and cultural elements in new surroundings. The images are put at the location they represent.
‘Speculations’ is made up of images of spaces that represent a specific era in the past. These spaces are reconstructed or conserved to explain, glorify or commemorate a certain period of time.

These systems are in a constant state of development and are extensively brought up to date when new images and categories have been obtained. One image can be included in different categories and systems and, in consequence of this, trigger opposite meanings. In close collaboration with designer Julie Peeters I made a series of independent publications and published contributions in magazines and catalogues.




* Ortelius's Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theatre of the World) is considered the first true atlas in the modern sense: a collection of uniform map sheets and sustaining text bound to form a book for which copper printing plates were specifically engraved. The Ortelius atlas is sometimes referred to as the summary of sixteenth-century cartography. It was published in 1570.