You are Here is a series of hand printed black & white silver gelatin prints.
In most large Western cities, the expanse of concrete urbanisation and sprawl is often checked by natural spaces like parks or rivers. On city maps, green spaces stand out against the formulaic and rigid network of streets and developments. The urban wanderer is confronted with a different matrix, an unfamiliar landscape, with none of the usual certainties of street names, recognisable buildings or grid-like patterns to help navigate. Many feel ‘lost’. The map is an essential tool, with its key symbol, ‘You are here’, foremost in hierarchy.
This project considers cartography in Rome’s Villa Borghese, the city’s most central park. To add to the orienteering challenge, the official Borghese maps unfortunately omit the ‘You are here’ symbol to show the user where they actually are.