Intricate Map Installations and Travel Collages by Sarah Shaw

Today I’m introducing Sarah Shaw of Mapping Worlds. Sarah is in the Peace Corps, currently in Columbia, and is a fantastic writer. Honestly, check out her blog, it’s great. But she is also a keen artist and collagist, creating collages of places she visits, and lovely map installations. I managed to grab her to answer a few questions about the processes behind her work and what inspires her.

Your map pieces are lovely and intricate. When and why did you become interested in cartography?

Thank you! When I was a toddler, I remember telling my mother that I wanted to be a mapmaker after watching a short segment on Sesame Street of a woman wearing a fancy headset, hovering over the city in a helicopter, mapping coordinates. Ever since, I’ve been fascinated with maps, aerial views, and how each place comes to life in a different way.

In light of that, what was your motivation behind creating pieces of art based on cartography?

Because I’ve been teaching, studying, and wandering around the world for the past eight years, the function of cartography plays a significant role in my life. I’m always navigating some sort of map, whether it’s technological or on paper. Also, I love the aesthetic quality of maps and how each element can be layered in beautiful, innovative ways.

The act of cutting up and dissecting a map purposefully moves it away from its original job. Was this your motivation?

Yes. By dissecting maps, the function is lost, but in combination with other materials, it can evolve into beautiful imagery. The place either becomes ambiguous or, on the other side of the spectrum, the ambience is heightened.

Obviously travel has had a huge impact on your artwork. Which place has inspired you the most and why?

I really love the Brooklyn bus map that I dissected and applied to reflective paper. I went to college in Brooklyn and spent many hours riding the buses and observing the other passengers. The person who stands in the front of this piece blends into the background, just like people who ride the buses each day in the city.

Let’s talk about process. How do you go about making these map pieces? Take us through the process from start to finish.

First, I’ll either become inspired by a material, for example: acetate, embroidery, acrylic paint, rice paper, etc, or a map based on an actual place, color, or pattern that intrigues me. Once I decide what materials I’d like to use, I decide on a format. Paper, wood, plexiglas, cardboard and fabric are some base materials that I’ve used in the past. I’ve experimented a lot with techniques and combinations of materials, but usually I’ll dissect the maps first, and apply paint, paper or various other materials to the base before layering the dissected map over it.

You’ve started making lovely collages of certain places that you visit. What inspired this and how do you decide which scenes to re-create?

Since I’m in the Peace Corps, and I don’t have a lot of extra money or access to art materials and a studio, I started a series of collages in my sketchbook based on places that I’ve wandered across. I’ve chosen the places rather spontaneously; sometimes I’m drawn to the colors and the patterns of the image and other times I’m captured by the memories I have from that particular location.

A lot of your work is made from objects that already exist, like clothing tags and, of course, maps. Can you tell us the importance of this in your work?

I’m inspired by unique materials that aren’t necessarily intended for artistic purposes, especially materials that can be layered. I get excited by acetate, colored tape and old magazines more often than oil paint and charcoal. The clothing tag project is one of my favorite projects that I’ve ever completed. I first became inspired to use the material when I noticed that my pants were labeled, “Made in Korea.” This sparked my curiosity and the question, “Where do all my clothes come from?” I started sorting through piles of clothes in my parents’ house bound for Goodwill, as well as the clothes in my own closet. Check out Sarah’s Made In.. series here.

I like the concept of recycling materials and creating “art” out of something that once existed for another purpose. I also enjoy experimenting with materials; sometimes my initial ideas morph into something I wasn’t expecting.

Check out more of Sarah’s work here, and get daily doses of visual vagabonding on Facebook with Wanderarti.

Do you make art when you travel? Let Sarah know what you like about her work in the comments below!