Local Cartographies – Year 3

Adults from the Sundial Centre in Hackney worked with artist Maria Kheirkhah on the Local Cartographies project to map significant places and memories of their community.

Over the course of a month, participants explored areas of East London that held particular significance in their lives to create a map of memories and places. The group discussed the relevance of the area with artist Maria Kheirkhah, talking through associated memories – both personal and communal and thinking through the nature of memory and communal space. Recordings of the participants’ memories, stories, and nursery rhymes mapping the churches of London add to the varied approaches to mapping in the project.

Using a kilim (a traditional Turkish carpet) as a backdrop to map the area around Sundial Centre, the group collaboratively drew up a map. The kilim was used to reflect the narrative element of the map. Traditionally, kilim rugs are communicative pieces, using symbols and motifs to tell stories, and expressing the weaver’s wishes or perceptions. The group then produced motifs to represent the memories and stories that the map tell. In this way, both conventional maps and kilims abstract, stylise and symbolise an experience, be it a journey, memory, story or happening.