If maps could change the world, where do I fit in? – Year 1 Yara El-Sherbini

Working with students from Hackney Community College, artist Yara El-Sherbini explored the concept of mapping in relation to creating art.

Maps are selective representations of reality and making them puts the creator in a position of power. Map making as a process of marking, identifying and positioning oneself within the world is about understanding one thing through the conceptual domain of another. Over the three days students considered how an ‘artwork’ is a form of mapping – plotting and marking a particular moment in time, an idea, formalised in an artwork.

Art, like maps, does not exist in a void but is related to linguistics, geography, socio-cultural issues and personal boundaries. Students explored the interrelated aspects of making art, and so engaged with the process of conceptualising an artwork. They were encouraged to think outside the box, to explore and experiment with the process of making artistic interpretations of mapping, while considering how the viewer will engage with and relate to their work.

Students worked with lead artist Yara El-Sherbini.