To map oneself, there must be a certain level of understanding, that there will be an infinite level of subtraction, from ones complex reality of self, the scale or magnitude of the map is completely fabricated. In the creation of my own “map of self”, I decided to focus on the depiction of my own perception, of my experiences, and the interruptions, which I have encountered in the process of living through idealized visions of my future and the actual realization of future/contemporary self. The overall message I wish to impart is the complexity and undefinable nature of self, and its inability to be fully explained through any medium.
In order to level the plane of experience, I created an initial axial diagram from which to start the reading of the image, which is also meant to represent the centered and yet undefinable “ME”. From the “GO” point you can trace, connect, and overlay personal experiences, on top of psychologically indicative ( if not wholly realistic) vision of my own experiences, outcomes, and interruptions.
I struggled with the notion of privacy in the creation of a map of self. I felt that I did not want to reveal too much of myself in the creation of this image, so I chose to label the indication each color has on the actual process of planning and experiencing.
My decision to surround the picture with a sea of uncertainty was derived from my own insecurity about displaying my own convoluted and fabricated perception of self in any medium.
This map is meant to depict the way in which foresight and hindsight differ, and the scale at which you view certain issues, solutions, and dreams all contradict the manner in which we measure the scale and importance, of individual experience.
This map is not meant to indicate a realistic depiction of my perception, rather it is meant as a means of displaying the inherent contradiction of human thought and action, and the overall conundrum of displaying self in a world which relies so heavily on the fabrication of image and the branding of self into a synthetic and sterile compilation of textures, colors, and ideologies; which contradict our inherent complexities and contradictions.
Simply defining my own terms for my map has allowed me to see the contradictions and faults in my own projection of self, making a map has created a situation in which I find myself questioning my own capabilities to adhere to hindsight and foresight as a means of perceiving my own intentions and outcomes, and the scale at which interruptions have left on me.
Just as Woods describes the function of clustering and connecting seemingly disconnected aspects of a map. I chose to give homogeny to the forms I depicted, creating symbols out of shapes, scales, and colors, which impart the magnitude of the topic without defining said topics in detail. I also appreciate her notion of a system of signifiers, I struggled immensely with this idea and in my next iteration of the project will expand upon it.
In terms of artists who influenced me from the readings I would say that Emily Ginsburg and Jane Lackey were the most prevalent. Their use of minimal color and creation of pattern based narrative maps, gave me a sense of the direction which interested me. Both used ideas of the invisible, ephemeral, unseen, and cerebral in the creation of a map ( which I found very attractive).
