The oblong shaped book describes the history of 500 years of Mercator cartography and mapping as with cadastral maps, visualizing on maps epidemiological, sociological and criminological elements or maps for tourists, railways and stations, school maps and globes from hand-drawn to printed, digital and GIS technology.
The glass works by Inge Panneel in reaction to the collection of globes, atlases and maps of the Mercator Museum were first exhibited to the public at the re-opening of the museum in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium in 2013. Exploring the importance of the work of the Flemish cartographer Gerard Mercator in the context of the 500th anniversary of his birth, the collection Map-I Mercator Revisited is also represented in this well-made book.
The correlation between Mercator and Inge Panneels (born in Belgium, now working as an artist and teaching undergraduate students Glass and Ceramics at the University of Sunderland, Great Britain) is interesting to read about.
In the chapter Map-i: an exploration of space and place, the noun ‘mapping’ is explained, the role of artists, science, Mercator’s books, the connections with the glass making, working and processing techniques. Mapping as a metaphor for a lifetime fascination and investigating the limits of perception.
The book closes with pages on the Mercator Museum and bibliography and is also for sale in connection to the exposition at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland Inge Panneels: The Map-i: Blue Marble Project from 28/3/2015-5/7/2015 >
Angela van der Burght
