Joseph
Leung Mong Sum

Schwerpunkt (Point of Gravity), 2025

World map torned from the book 'The General Gazetteer' printed in 1816, laser-engraving on arcylic case, hollow steel ball

A set of two

-

A map is never neutral, but is always shaped by the gravity of the mapmaker’s perspective and epistemology, carrying an invisible weight of desires, anxieties, and power dynamics embedded within its cartography.

This map, printed in 1816, captures a moment before “Hong Kong” was even named by the British colonial forces, but its creation already carries the weight of a colonial desire that would ultimately be realized in 1841 with the British occupation of the Hong Kong Island, presaging the historical and geopolitical forces that would shape my birthplace and very presence today.