Maps are essential tools for nearly all our activities. I love maps because they tell us about ourselves, our societies, histories, and beliefs. Today’s digital, GPS-generated maps can pinpoint any location on the globe, or even in space, but they often feel cold and sterile, lacking the human touch that lies at our core.
Almost two decades ago, I bought a copy of Leonardo at a magazine stand during a visit to New York. Leonardo is the go-to journal for anyone passionate about the intersection of art, science, and technology. Published by MIT Press, it serves as a platform for visionary artists, innovative researchers, and bold thinkers to explore new frontiers—from data aesthetics to bio-art to AI creativity (here). Since its inception in 1968, Leonardo has been a place where the future takes shape, one boundary-breaking idea at a time. I couldn’t find my copy of that issue—I must have lost it—but I remember resonating with a paper discussing how we describe our journeys using sensory and minute details. A smell, a sight, or an ephemeral event; those are the details that matter when we share our stories. As someone who enjoys walking in cities, I take the time to observe and absorb the details around me. Ever since I read that paper, I can’t help but narrate my journeys to myself using such sensory information.
Now, two decades later, I was delighted to discover the work of Larissa Fassler with the release of her new book, Viewshed. Larissa Fassler is a Canadian artist based in Berlin since 1999, renowned for her intricate cartographic drawings and architectural sculptures exploring urban spaces’ socio-political dynamics (here). Her work often involves immersive field research, mapping cities through personal observations, bodily experiences, and detailed annotations, reflecting on gentrification, public space, and social inequality.
Fassler’s practice is heavily influenced by psychogeography and feminist geography, positioning her body as a tool to explore and document the complexities of city life. I felt compelled to get a copy and learn more about her work. Viewshed (DISTANZ, 2023), edited by Diana Sherlock, is a beautifully crafted trilingual hardcover book featuring English, German, and French texts. It encapsulates fifteen years of Fassler’s artistic practice with 336 pages and more than 150 color images. The book includes essays by Nicole Burisch, Genre et Ville, Shauna Janssen, Fiona Shipwright, and Karen E. Till, alongside her interview. It is a pleasure to hold, touch, feel it, and explore her journey through various cities, including my beloved Paris, la Ville Lumière, which I explored and mapped internally while I lived there. The book reflects on urban space, feminism, and geospatial politics. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves maps about human experiences.
