051215 – Empire – Tate Britain, London

Imagine being a cartographer in 1770 onboard James Cooks Endeavour. The ship lands on the east coast of an unknown huge land mass. There is a sandy beach, trees some hills in the distance and from this information it is intended to chart the new continent. Drawing a landmass by looking at it obliquely mile after nautical mile. Mapping the then unknown planet, marking shallows, currents and wind direction. Collecting all the information required to establish new routes on which to trade. Doing all of this on an oak built, square rigged, three mast Bark. The accuracy of the information collected is astounding and it established the infrastructure required to build a commercial empire. It is difficult to view this exhibition without thinking of Google, Amazon, Facebook or Apple mapping and controlling both our real and virtual worlds. Substitute ecosystem for infrastructure and the parallels are obvious. This is an amazing exhibition covering a heroic period of human achievement.