THE NORTH RIDING PROJECT

Old atlases record scores of phantom islands.  The more accurate the maps became and the less scope they left for uncharted territory, the more frequently seafarers claimed to have sighted such islands, excited by the latest white dots, inspired by the desolation of the fathomless sea, fooled by low-hanging clouds or drifting icebergs, nauseated by briny drinking water, maggoty bread and stringy salt meat, thirsting so eagerly for land and fame that, in their boundless greed, everything they desired coalesced into a cluster of gold and glory, tempting them to note wondrous names in their logbooks alongside prosaic coordinates, to cut through the monotony of their days with would-be discoveries.  And so names like Nimrod, Matador and the Auroras started to appear on charts in bold cursive lettering next to sketchily defined outlines of scattered chunks of land.

Schalansky/Losses