Plattegrond van Emden after 1657

This is an anonymous plan of Emden, rendered with ink on paper. At first glance, we see an urban map, but look closer, and the elaborate fortifications reveal a city girded for defense. These star-shaped bastions, common in early modern Europe, recall a primal fear – the need to protect, to secure, to delineate 'us' from 'them'. This motif echoes through history, from ancient city walls to the Maginot Line, each a testament to humanity's enduring anxiety about territorial integrity. The image of a fortified boundary carries an inherent tension—protection versus confinement, security versus isolation. Consider how such boundaries, physical and symbolic, shape our psychological landscapes. Do they reassure, or do they incite a deeper unease, reminding us of what lies beyond? This tension, embedded in the plan of Emden, resonates even now, in our debates about borders, identity, and the ever-shifting boundaries of the self.