Gezicht op Colombo 1765 - 1775

Here is a drawing of Colombo by Johannes Rach made sometime in the 1700s, showing the city with ships sailing in the foreground and a banner in the sky. Consider the flags on the ships and buildings, symbols of authority and possession. These flags are not just emblems of nations; they are visual assertions of power, echoing the Roman eagles that marked the legions' advance. This act of staking claim through symbols resurfaces time and again in the human narrative. Think of the cross carried by conquistadors or the banners of medieval knights, each a declaration of dominance. These symbols evoke a psychoanalytic understanding of collective memory, where symbols create not just a conscious understanding of the landscape, but also tap into our subconscious. The flags, like the standards of ancient armies, resonate with a deep-seated human instinct to claim, to define, and to mark our place in the world.