This is the seventh article in a series investigating how artists are turning the world of trash vs. treasure on it's head. What one person may look at as purely garbage can be looked at by another as an artistic media. Susan Stockwell's view of maps and their place in society is a great example of one of these artistic forward thinkers. Take a peek at some of her maps and then look in your garbage can for inspiration!
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Photo courtesy of the artist. Private Collection Houston Texas.
This piece is titled "South America" and was made in 2000 out of used coffee filters stitched together. The three dimensional nature of the coffee filters gives this map an almost topographical feel. The stains on the filters lend the map an aura of earthiness while at the same time, not being of any one particular shade of brown. The filters instead show the spectrum of browns in its hills and valleys.
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Photo courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Private collection Houston Texas.
This piece made in 2000 is titled "Rhino". It is made of rubber inner tubes stitched together with fishing line. The shadows of this piece make it look as though there are two horns protruding from the upper right hand corner. The folds of the rubber give this piece a dimensionality that would not be possible with paper.
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Photo courtesy of the artist.
This 2006 piece is titled "All the Tea in China". It is made of used teabags stitched together and cut into the shape of China. The dried tea colours and remaining tea leaves in the bags paint this map in all the shades between beige and dark brown. The irony of the medium juxtaposed with the country gives this map a levity unheard of in more familiar types of maps.
image sourcePhoto courtesy of the artist.
This piece is entitled "Imperial Pattern Country" and was made in 2006. The map of Canada and the United States was painted and stained onto a dress making form with coffee. Susan Stockwell finds beauty in both dresses and maps and enjoys highlighting the similarities and differences between the two. Dresses and maps are divisive in their nature -- there are lines and boundaries which divide them from each other. However, there is also a great amount of universality in the two. By recognizing these common factors between countries perhaps the earth can become closer to the oneness it really is.
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Photo courtesy of the artist.
This 2008 piece is entitled "Imperial Quilt". It is made up of maps of the world hand stitched together in a traditional American quilt pattern. The middle of the map consists of the Middle East and the outer edge of the map is North America. Every continent is represented with blue sea between them. When viewed from a distance, it is almost impossible to decipher that the quilt is made up of squares of maps. The colours intertwine and become blurred along their edges into each other.
These various images of maps show how artificial boundaries can be. People worldwide are more alike than they are different. It's absolutely amazing to me that Susan Stockwell can convey such incredible ideas with little more than her trash can by her side. Used maps, stained coffee filters and tea bags, old dress forms and inner tubes make up her palette while her imagination and creativity take over. These forms of artistic recycling are good for the planet by taking garbage out of the landfills and conserving the energy that would be necessary to recycle it. They are also good for the planet by expanding our minds and ideas on just which part of the world we "belong" to.
For more ideas about artistic recycling please see the following articles:
Artistic Recycling: Tea Bags
Artistic Recycling: Egg Cartons
Artistic Recycling 3: Plastic Bottles
Artistic Recycling: Metal
Artistic Recycling: Amazing Uses for Leftover Bottle Caps
Artistic Recycling: Incredible Upcycled Dresses
