Not to scale 2023

not to scale — MFA thesis show

Series of 7 works investigating the theme of mapping and exploring memory through language and landscape. The works in this show explored the idea of thresholds of meaning, and how we make sense of our environments and each other. The cartographic expression ‘not to scale’ is used to annotate a representation of locational information in order that the viewer recognize that what is in front of them is a translation, an illustration, a depiction, once removed from accuracy, and in the realm of re-presentation. This phrase encapsulates the relationship between reality and perception and in its register, addresses the viewer directly, breaking the fourth wall and making them aware of the constructedness of the interaction, and the role of interpretation in any communication. The phrase also denotes the language of representation as one of visuality. Invoking this context for the works in this gallery makes explicit the act of translation, taking of perspective, and inherent relationality that the works, as fragments of communication, each hold. The works on the wall are weavings of fragments of a larger image, which in its entirety includes the phrase ‘not to scale’ but which is explored, through the weaving process, as though navigating a landscape. Each weaving represents a perspective taken on the whole, and taken individually, the pieces act as abstractions of annotation. These works celebrate boundaries. They engage with the act of framing, of annotating, and the impetus to connect.