Hic sunt dracones (Here Lay Dragons)

Is there any spot on earth left unexplored? Cartography might seem like a lost art in the times of Google Maps, but if you long for journeying to uncharted territories, stop by Benaki Museum on Pireos 138 and step into Here Lay Dragons - Mapping the Unknown, Rick Lowe’s latest project. The African-American artist who has made a lasting impact on the city with his Victoria Square Project - an active community that includes locals, artists, immigrants and refugees - presents his own version of mapping our world. The title of the exhibition refers to how, during the Middle Ages, cartographers represented unexplored areas by using dragons and monsters. Lowe’s new paintings, reminiscent of maps, are referred to as "dominoes", due to their multi-layered construction, and are placed in dialogue with items from the vast Benaki Museum's archive and the Doxiadis archive. Together they tell stories about movement and migration that allow the audience to draw their own conclusions and form unexpected connections. Lowe wonders; are these conclusions the uncharted territory of our days? Are they our modern-day “dragons”?