Today’s lecture was about maps and journeys, first we looked at maps, and discussed what they show and how maps can lie. Maps have technically lied in the past as they only documented what the person making it thought a place looked like, we looked at maps of the world dating back hundreds of years and looked at how they developed into what we know today. So, maps differ according to different perceptions of a place.
We were tasked with researching artists/makers whose work can connect with the topic of maps and journeys in some way. The first artist I want to write about is Bram Thomas Arnold, and specifically his ‘Walking Home’ installation that is all about one very personal journey he took in 2009. Described by his website as “an artist who started with walking and kept going’, he works in installation, drawing, writing and performance focusing around walking. His ‘Walking Home’ project is simple in concept, an installation documenting his journey from his current residence to his home in Switzerland.
His website goes on to say:
“Nostalgia, home, a sense of belonging, and a desire to dream are all universal facets of human life though, and through this personal exploration I sought to touch on these interests.”
I think the walk was his way of reclaiming his past and his story, giving him time and space to consider the questions around his past and bringing him closer to his place of birth.
“Home was a question mark.”
Next I researched a group of makers from a Dublin based animation studio called ‘And Maps And Plans’ who created a short film called ‘An Island’. Directed by Rory Bryne, ‘An Island’ follows a solitary man board a boat to remote island as he attempts to reach the summit. On his journey he confronts his own personal struggles with loss and love and is ultimately left admiring the wonder of the natural world. I thought the short was touching and powerful, encouraging personal reflection and an acceptance for the joys and hardships a person experiences in the cycle of life. The man treks a literal journey as well as an inner, personal one and that’s why I thought it fit well with the topic. It is a film about the human experience and the topic of maps and journeys is one that also explores the developing of human experience over a period of time/distance.
Both the makers/artists that I chose to research were mainly focused around journeys rather than maps as I think that side of the topic is one that I grasp better and can relate to more.
PCA Isobel Wilkinson - BA Film 