Which Way Home?

There are more ways to map a city than MapQuest could possibly take on. Consider your own strategies: is it according to streets and avenues, or the people and places to which they lead? Where traditional maps drop off, locative media comes in, wedding art and technology and opening up the world of creative cartography. Artist Sylvia Grace Borda took on the task of mapping the city of Surrey, which spans 380 square kilometers in British Columbia, by photographing every one of its more than 1400 bus stops. In order to do this, she walked, biked, drove and rode busses through the city, collecting stories and pictures along the way. The result is Every Bus Stop in Surrey, BC, a database of photographs that offer digital maps or 'snapshots' of Surrey's diverse geography and neighborhoods. The project is presented as a 38-minute DVD film of photographs projected at 2-second intervals, an interactive kiosk that provides access to all 1600 images, and a series of printed photographs. For those to whom the Surrey Art Gallery is off the map, the project is also available online. - Ophra Wolf