Mapping the Invisible: Self Portrait Postmortem — A Map of Love Creek

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Here are some photos of the last part of my self portrait map. As It was hard to photograph my map on the wall, I included a detail that gives a better sense of what it looks like up close, as well as an image of the surface which I created digitally.

Ultimately my project came out fairly close to the way I envisioned it, but with some rough edges. I would have liked to add more color and details to the surface using Photoshop. As a result of technical problems and time constraints, I included only the most essential elements of my surface. Additionally, I greatly limited the amount I did by hand in order to meet the deadline. My original plan was to include extensive text, beyond that on my draft, which I was unable to do. I also hoped to create texture using different papers which I hoped would give the illusion of depth. I think my project would have benefited from these changes and regret that there was not sufficient time for them.

If I were to do something differently it would be to follow a different schedule than the others in class who were doing purely digital projects. It would have been best for me to have printed my map several weeks in advance so that I could add all the details I had planned.

I was influenced by Shadow Lines and the way in which the narrator’s sense of self and geography was so informed by others. The space I chose to map my self portrait onto is a shared space which is significant to everyone in my family. Reading the novel drew my attention to the fact that I really wanted to honor my individual perception of, and relationship to, that space. I wanted the space I was mapping to assert my individuality over the collective identity which it normally reflects.

Ultimately my map reflects my experiences and proposes that life is cyclical and in my life I will return to the knowledge and experiences that I have had. I hope to use this circular map as a reminder to myself and others to allow our experiences to build on and inform one another so that we may learn for what we have been through.

Author: Mariko Kamiya