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Similands

Stephen Walter

2006

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Contemporary Britain

Dominant colour

Similands is a 2006 by Stephen Walter, depicting Britain, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Stephen Walter
When & what style?: 2006
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

Stephen Walter’s print *Similands* riffs on old maps with a sharp, modern twist. It looks like a 16th- or 17th-century map of Britain, but the roads and towns are packed with logos, trash dumps, and fast-food signs. The artist calls mapping an obsession, and here that obsession feels satirical—all those airports and McDonald’s stamped over green patches. The dense pattern hides tiny details like folk tales and car parks in every corner. If you like this mix of history and humor, check out artist: Walter, Stephen.

The story of this work

Overview

A map of the British Isles rendered in the style of a 16th- or 17th-century chart, densely overlaid with contemporary commercial and cultural signage, including logos, road signs, tourist attractions, fast-food chains, and environmental warnings. The composition blends traditional cartographic motifs with satirical elements, reflecting the commercialization and uniformity of modern British landscapes. Motifs such as airports, car parks, housing developments, and fragmented folklore are interspersed among conventional tree symbols and hazardous waste indicators. The work critiques the erosion…

Read the full account in the museum source.