Discovering Haitian story at the British Library

Dekouvri istwa Ayiti nan libreri angleté

I am so happy to be back in London. This time I am at the British Library, as an Eccles Fellow exploring art, religion and spirituality for Haitian existence and survival, by studying images and documents of Haiti in the library’s collection.

Prensnelo unrolling map of Hispaniola at the British Library

Cartography is the study and practice of making and using maps. This term is new to me, and over the first 2 days, in the Maps reading room, what caught my attention was the shape differences in the various early maps of Hispaniola—1564, 1616, 1722, 1750 and 1794 for example—as well as changes to the border separating Haiti from the Dominican Republic over time.

Prensnelo and a 1564 map of Hispaniola, at the British Library

The October 1794 map by William Faden, cartographer to the King and HRH Prince of Wales, is my favourite, because this is the real shape of Hispaniola as seen from a plane. Over the next few days, I will be looking at moving images and other documents, and listening to audio files, to educate myself more about Haiti’s history. That, and drawing from my personal surviving of the 2010 earthquake, I hope this research will inspire new series of artwork.