Reproductie van een landkaart van Thailand before 1895

This is Michel Berthaud’s reproduction of a map of Thailand. It is printed on paper, with the print itself made with careful lines of ink. The map shows Thailand’s geography, with a focus on bodies of water and coastline. The process of making maps, and their reproductions, is tied to trade and geopolitics. In Berthaud’s time, these were tools to claim ownership of regions. They mark territories, creating resources to extract and populations to govern. Consider the labor involved, from the draftsmen and engravers who made the original map, to those who reproduced it, and the paper makers too. Each contributing to a vast web of production. This map reproduction invites us to reflect on maps as crafted objects embedded with political power. In this sense, its status as a mere reproduction is a reminder of the complex relationships between art, work, and colonialism.