A map is more than an objective representation of a territory. It carries within itself the conceptions of what it is to see, social-political ideologies, limitations of the seeing technologies and of the technic-scientific knowledge. The multiplicity of interpretations of cartography has been raising for decades the interest of contemporary artists, who use the map as theme or medium for their researches. Based in this dialogue, Agnaldo Farias curated the exhibition Mapas, Cartas, Guias e Portulanos [Maps, Charts, Guides, and Portolanos], which can be seen from May 9^th at the Sala de Arte Santander, at Santander’s main office in São Paulo.

The show comprises 58 works, 10 of which are original maps from the 16^th to 18^th centuries from the cartography nucleus of the Santander Brazil Collection, presented in dialogue with contemporary pieces that relate to questions such as mapping of space, frontiers, displacement, and territorial, economical, cultural and subjective flows. 

Amidst the contemporary pieces, we find a work of gouache on paper Fernando Zarif (1960 – 2010, São Paulo), where the artist transforms the map of Europe in a figurative transformation of the myth that names the continent.

The show can be visited up until June, 2016. For more information, please write to the e-mail address acervo.cultural@santander.com.br.