W / E [ west / east ] global divides Peter d’Agostino
A multimedia (photo-video-web) installation, W / E is a metaphorical history of globalization initiated in 2001. Moving back and forth in time from 1492 to the present, this video excerpt focuses on the Treaty of Tordesillas, brokered in 1494 by Pope Alexander VI to resolve diputed claims to “newly discovered lands” by dividing the world between Portugal and Spain. With the demarcation line set at 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the Portuguese in 1500 laid claim to Brazil which was East of the treaty line, while Spain was awarded the majority of land in South America to the West of this line