The Island* investigates the story of a piece of land that was recently erased from official maps after existing for over a century. Joel Spring raises questions about the purported veracity of cartography, and how maps often reflect the worldviews and prejudices of those who have the privilege of creating them. For colonizing powers specifically, controlling the representations of and the narratives that can be told about the land guarantees dominance over its domain, including the peoples who inhabited that land for generations. A digital investigation into the history and implications of the non-existent Sandy Island, significant as a navigational point during the British “discovery” of Australia, the work references a wide variety of material, including archival documents, media coverage, cinematic depictions, and virtual maps, mobilized towards addressing that critical point of encounter: the shore.
