Mapping the Unseen
Think of a space that is typically invisible or overlooked, like reified borders, redlined neighborhoods, landmarks removed and covered over by colonial infrastructures, lava tubes, or subterranean waterways. Call this hidden space into being, ideally in a non-2D, non-visual way. How might you represent a map of this space through movement, generational (and) body memory, sound, breath, texture, physical and/or emotional feelings, or narrative and storytelling?
What purpose(s) would your map serve that something like Google Maps does not or cannot? What does your map reveal about the unseen, repeated violence inherent in colonial cartographic practices? How does your map pushback against audience as navigator or audience as consumer?––both roles which are re/enforced by contemporary maps and infrastructures. How might your map be a form of artivism/activism/counter-mapping?
Group work encouraged! What happens if we communally construct our maps rather than receiving or viewing maps individually?
You might also consider:
Cartography is often positioned as an objective practice. After all, how can bias enter into a 2-dimensional representation of our physical, actual space? When we look at contemporary settler maps, however, we often don’t think about the author behind the map. What aspects of our surroundings are highlighted by Google or Apple Maps that other cartographers would not highlight? What does our hidden map activity reveal about colonial cartographic practices?
