From antiquity until 1820, the year Antarctica was “discovered,” many cultures believed there was a southern land that had not yet been discovered. This mythic land was frequently mapped and alternately called Ora Antarctica, Antarktikos, Terra Australis Incognita, Brasiliae, Antipodes,Te tai-uka-a-pia, Australis, and the name given to this series: Magallanica (Everyone Wants a Piece of It). Magallanica was the name used by some early mapmakers who mistakenly thought that Ferdinand Magellan’s discovery of

Tierra del Fuego was this southern continent. Antarctica is often thought of for its natural beauty: sublime views of icebergs calving into waters with otherworldly colors. The continent is also increasingly the subject of news about climate research there and the effects of global warming. Works in “Magallanica,” a continuing series I begaun in 2018, focus instead on politics, by visualizing claims made by the governments of many nations. In these paintings, the continent is divided into pie-like shapes that represent primary and secondary claims, in colors that represent claimants. Many additional countries (almost all, it seems) have made claims not recognized by the initial claimants, often painted in colorful rectangles throughout the continent. (See Records, 2020s for more.)