Geo/graphic Mapping by Alison Barnes

I have been looking at the artist Alison Barnes, she has focused 

This map charts all instances of brick and tile decoration throughout New Basford. At first glance the area can seem to be somewhat featureless, with row upon row of red brick terraced houses. However, this map reveals a huge range of subtle architectural detail. The decoration is so prevalent within residential areas that it delineates the roads. Areas with no decoration are predominantly commercial. The type of decoration rarely seemed to correlate to the size of house, though there is a prevalence of colourful ceramic tiles in the south west corner.

Alison has developed work that probed beneath the surface of New Basford, attempting to represent a sense of place. Her methodology was that of the anthropologist, seeking out signs and interventions of a low-tech, personal and vernacular nature. These were recorded and used to develop a series of maps charting non-traditional elements such as graffiti, decorative brick features and memories. The maps (approx 900mm square) were produced on translucent stock that enabled two different maps to be overlaid and further conclusions drawn.

See the full gallery on Posterous

This map focuses on the graffiti in the area. All readable instances, 2094 of graffiti in the area were mapped, Alison has been transposed onto the map of the area exactly as written. The outline of the roads has been removed to let the graffiti visually define the space. Deductions can be made from this map about the frequency and type of graffiti and its position within the space. For example, tagging is more prevalent in areas that are less residential, and some roads that have houses that front directly onto the street have a disproportionately large amount of graffiti. Subtler things also reveal themselves, such as sunnier sides of the streets attracting more graffiti, and concentrations around street corners.

This map puts the residents at the centre of the work, and the oral history research was gained over the course of four interviews with older residents who had either lived in the area all their lives, or as a child. I endeavoured not to lead the conversation, simply explaining the project and outlining what I wanted them to talk about—particular places, buildings or people they remembered. All participants had a wealth of evocative memories, both personal and general. It became apparent that some places and characters appeared in several of the participants’ stories, which suggests that the notion that stories can become a part of a place’s very fabric is a very real one.