Stephen Walter's "Nova Utopia" at Shapero Modern

Shapero Modern is delighted to present a new print by the acclaimed British artist Stephen Walter, 13th - 30th April, 2016.

Entitled Nova Utopia, the artwork is inspired by Thomas More’s philosophical novel Utopia, and a map of the world he imagined drawn by Abraham Ortelius. More’s book, which was published 500 years ago in 1516, depicts. Walter’s map updates this to the 21st century, showing a world of mass tourism, package holidays, retirement homes, luxury resorts, banking districts and cultural hotspots.

Nova Utopia is presented inside a ‘Hagioscope Frame’, with a movable magnifying glass lens, so rather than Utopia being a place for everybody, only one person may view a detail of the map at a time, creating a very personal, local experience that becomes a kind of metaphor for how utopias may be seen today.

Says Walter: ‘This map is essentially a collection of a number of utopian and dystopian manifestations, some that I yearn for, and also some of the things that I wish didn’t exist.’

Image: Nova Utopia, 2013. Archival digital print with protective and UV glaze, 133.5 x 171.5 cm. © Stephen Walter. Courtesy TAG Fine Arts and Shapero Modern.