The Heritage of the Third World
Qiu Zhijie
邱志杰
Production date
2013
Object Detail
Media
ink on paper
Measurements
144.5 x 184 cm
Notes
The Heritage of the Third World (2013) is a large ink on paper work almost two metres wide. At first it seems to be an ancient, hand-drawn map, like those made by the first European explorers to venture to the Middle Kingdom. We see rivers and their tributaries, lakes, mountain peaks and volcanoes, all labelled in Chinese, French and English. It becomes apparent that this is no ordinary map — it recalls literary cartography such as Tolkien’s elaborate maps of Middle Earth and Mordor. On closer inspection, we see the Wetland of Political Islam, the Mount of Christianity, the Plateau of Colonialism and the Peak of Dictators. There is a place called ‘Coup’ and another called ‘Corruption’. There are references to the ‘World Bank’, to the ‘Tourism Industry’ and ‘Human Rights Watch’. Looking for conceptual connections and cultural and linguistic exchanges, and mapping these spatially and intuitively, Qiu Zhijie finds things that are not discernible through the application of linear logic. Here we have a map-maker who is trying to make sense of the apparent chaos and instability of the contemporary post-colonial world of porous borders and virtual realities, a seeker of patterns and an advocate for justice.
Accession number
2016.038