Hello World : Impossible Maps

Hi, this is my short response to the following readings

• On Exactitude in Science, Borges
• excerpt from The Precession of Simulacra, Baudrillard
• Experimental Geography, Paglen

and my thoughts and feelings from creating my very first “hello-world” map using leaflet, in the context of an independent study course I’m taking this semester called “Impossible Maps”.

Maps are exciting because they are forms of representation that are surprisingly open and explicit about the purpose and the wills of their creators. Often, we can take a look at a map and quickly identify what it was made for and what purpose it serves (ranging from daily directions searches to complex analysis). From an artist point of view, I think maps are perhaps the most direct way to project my own perspectives about what the world means to me and an extremely effective way to show people how the world affects me. This is why I believe maps have often been associated with the power dynamics of the world because the size of the world which an individual or a group of people directly correlates with the “control” the individual or the group assumes over the space. No wonder why map data is still a very sensitive issue in foreign relations and politics. (I remember when South Korea banned Pokemon Go despite popular demand because the country is still technically at war and needed time to ensure that the sensitive map data for the DMZ area gets protected). But we, as creators and artists, should strive to expand the spectrum of what maps can do and how they can empower various of groups of people who have traditionally been excluded from or underrepresented in the game of mapping. I’m super excited to learn how to become such an artist throughout my Impossible Maps experience.

And.. please take a look at My first map! made with Leaflet and tiles from Mapbox! (It’s my lovely home located at Busan, South Korea.)