FATMA AL ALI

The Cartography of Conjecture​

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​This series of imaginative drawings reinterprets the visual language of 18th-century maps, particularly those produced in 1777 that inspired the work, to explore how archives and historical documentation shape our understanding of place and memory. Rooted in the artist’s ongoing practice of uncovering and revisiting historical records, the series reflects on the formal language through which histories are recorded, shared, and remembered. Each meticulously rendered map of a non-existent land becomes a contemplative archive, pairing careful detail with a reframing of the tone once used to describe territory and belonging. By placing oral recollections alongside written accounts, Al Ali reveals the delicacy of recorded narratives and the quiet influence of those who document them. The series asks what it means to believe a record, how a story transforms when and if retold, and whether a map can ever truly reflect the land it seeks to define.

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