Bukhara (red)

London-based artist Mona Hatoum was born in Lebanon to a Palestinian family. Her works often repurpose domestic objects and items associated with the Arab world to address issues of marginalisation, displacement and identity. In 'Bukhara (red)', Hatoum has eroded the weave of a traditional handmade Persian rug to present
a map of the world.

In cartographic practice, a map projection is a system of transferring latitude and longitude from the curved surface of the globe to a two-dimensional plane. Most maps are based on the Mercator projection and present a misleading picture of the relative size of continents, where the Northern Hemisphere appears proportionately larger. In 'Bukhara (red)', Hatoum has used the Gall-Peters projection, accurately rescaling the continents to show that the Southern Hemisphere is nearly twice the size of the north. 'Bukhara (red)' highlights the Eurocentric bias that places emphasis on the Northern Hemisphere, while diminishing the representation of the global south.