Vague Terrain

[Cognitive Trace of Milan]

The following hand-drawn cognitive traces were generated cumulatively over the 10 days to 2.5 weeks I was in each city. After every (near-daily) transit dérive, I graphically reconstructed my sense of the day's route, using different line weight/quality to correspond to different modes of travel. Over time, the assembly of traces began to describe the navigated city, and where possible, the urban cues which caused directional & modal changes.

This recurring exercise was conducted without consulting the official city map, such that distortions in distance and geographic relationship reveal perceived recollections of the experienced city rather than a reconstruction of the authoritatively measured city.

Cities Visited:
(bold drawings are displayed on this page)
1. Mumbai
2. Hong Kong
3. Bangkok
4. Singapore
5. Tokyo
6. Beijing-Lhasa
7. Johannesburg
8. Milan
9. Moscow
10. Mexico City
11. Sao Paolo
12. Houston

A chronologically organized narrative description of each route can also be found at http://actofroute.blogspot.com

[Cognitive Trace of Tokyo]

[Cognitive Trace of Moscow]

[Cognitive Trace of Bangkok]

[Cognitive Trace of Houston]