Honours Exhibition 2021- Mapping as Commentary

HONOURS EXHIBITION 2021 OPEN WINDOW

MA P I G P N AS C OM E M NT RY A

AV FOYER

“THAT IS THE CHARM OF THE MAP. IT REPRESENTS THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HORIZON WHERE EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE” -ROSITA FORBES

MAPPING AS COMMENTARY 2021’s Visual Communications Honours Students were tasked with the project Mapping As Commentary.

The students aim was to develop work which had a strong link between the conceptual and visual expression is established through the exploration of alternative approaches to mapping.

Mapping is explored in an unconventional sense, where the emphasis is not necessarily placed on recording and visually presenting data, but instead is refocused on highlighting and challenging the manner in which we order and organise things. In the context of this project, the conceived maps do not need to serve navigational purposes, but can instead serve as an expression to pass commentary, tell stories or may even present alternative ways of engaging with the factual.

The aim was for students to exit their creative comfort zone and to tell a story or articulate a message through non-traditional map making.

ANGELIQUE RANDELL

Angelique Randell, All In My Head, 2021 All in my head is about my subconscious mind. The concept of the map was to try and depict what I think my subconscious mind looks like through the use of expressive typography, line work and colours. The subconscious mind is a data-bank of everything, which is not in your conscious mind. It stores your memories, emotions, feelings, habits, addictions, creativity, imagination, intuition and so much more.

I tried to incorporate all of these aspects in my map. The mind is unpredictable and an interesting strange place and we do not always know what goes on in there. By embracing experimentation overlapping text and shapes I tried to show that. The blue lines indicate the pathways of the mind. In some places, the text can be easily read and in other places not. To show that sometimes we definitely know what goes on in our minds but sometimes we are not so sure at all.

Angelique Randell, The Lockdown Diaries, 2021 This is a map of my house during lockdown being in isolation. The lockdown felt like forever and after a while of being in my house all the time not being able to escape or have human interaction, I started to go crazy and got extremely bored. I wanted to depict this in my map. In my vector map, I used a lot of line work, pastel (boring) colours, gradients and halftones. At first, it seems like a normal house but here and there in the map quirky things are happening. I also included the lockdown activities such as making whipped coffee, banana bread, binge-watching Netflix, exercising, reading and zoom meetings. There are no characters in the map, to depict the isolating feeling. I used frames to show the different areas in my house but by making the elements exceed the frames it adds to the quirkiness of the concept.

CHANEL SLABBERT

Chanel Slabbert, The Messy, Indecisive Process Of Creativity, 2021 The creative process is riddled with indecisiveness, messy moments, frustration, hours spent developing ideas, and countless hours spent sitting in front of your computer.

Often we are so caught up in reaching the final outcome that we overlook the process we took to get there. This map comments on all of the above-mentioned factors contributing to the creative process through the use of experimentation and mixed-media.

The mark-making such as the scribbles represent moments of frustration, while the use of embroidery represents the thought process. Some thoughts are a mess of many ideas put together, some thoughts have been taken further and explored, and some remained as just that, unfinished, unexplored thoughts. Through critical conceptual thinking, I designed this map to represent all of the stages accompanying the creative process, and challenged my comfort zone by taking a very abstract, mixed-media approach.

Chanel Slabbert, What Would Happen If We Went A Different Route, 2021 As designers, we follow the ‘rules of design’ which we have been taught, because following the rules will result in a visually pleasing, correct outcome. In this map, I challenged both the rules and the grid that accompany typography. The map consists of various rules of typography and how I have ‘broken’ their rules. Swiss Style typography and elements of Bauhaus are featured throughout my map solidifying the concept of typography. This map offers an experimental approach to typography, testing the boundaries of type while asking the question; can I still achieve a design that ‘looks good’ when the rules are not being followed? When taking a closer look at the map, multiple rules can be identified while visually exploring exactly what not to do. By breaking away from the set rules, I challenged my comfort zone as well as my conceptual thinking.

IMAN MOTANI

Iman Motani, The Food Map, 2021 The concept for this map was to record the amount of taste buds I use and a measure of my excitement when each of them are active. Shaped as a topographic map this was done by distinguishing between the different taste buds as levels and colours as follows: Level 1, salty as dark pink; level 2, umami as yellow; level 3, sweet as light pink; level 4, sour as turquoise; and level 5, bitter, as navy blue. The medium used as a base was a magazine that had shapes cut into a stack of papers for the different levels. This was done to show the depth of flavour. The pages of the magazine were painted white to act as a plate of food. The cut outs were done in an untidy manner to reference the fact that food is not a neat process. The cut out shapes were inspired by the shape of the stomach along with the fact that with each taste the more excited I am to eat it the more curves there are in the shape, the stomach was illustrated to seem as though it was getting excited when filled with food of certain flavours. For example on the map the sweet taste has the most curves meaning I am the most excited to eat sweet foods.

Each shape gives the illusion that they’re always being shaped and growing like our tastes, always changing and growing and what I might get excited about now is not typically the same thing I’ll be excited about in the future. Another level to this map would be that each taste bud was given a different personality as described below: Salty - Very bland taste that only talks about itself. Umami - Caring and motherly Sweet - Sweet. Need I say more. Sour - Grumpy, resentful and hateful always complaining Bitter - So grumpy that all they can do is grunt and exclaim.

The zine is set up as an introduction to each taste personality.

Iman Motani, The Anxiety Map, 2021 The concept for this map was to map out how anxiety feels and then to overlay this representation with icons of distractions and things many people use as coping mechanisms. While making this i then realised that as individual acts each of these distractions also bring about many anxieties and an extension of this is brought through in the zine where the anxieties of them are brought through. Anxiety on the poster is done as black, grey and white with the use of ink and charcoal. Sometimes these are controllable but also chaotic mediums are to represent the gradients that anxiety comes in. Sometimes it’s very intense but sometimes it’s just in the back of your mind. This is brought through in different types of brush strokes and applications of the medium. The icons on top are done in a structural and neat way to contrast this and they are done in a neon blue. This colour was used because the coping mechanisms are supposed to be calming which is what the blue represents but they are also stressful which is represented by the brightness of the neon. The zine is laid out in an anxious way as it is incredibly busy like the poster and all the text is capitalised to show how loud one’s thoughts are when anxious. The letters have been kerned closely as well and sometimes paragraphs seem as though they are running off the page to symbolise the anxious thoughts.

JADE RAWSON

Jade Rawson, Emotions, 2021 This map depicts some of my emotions as fish. I am a very emotional person and sometimes my emotions can feel as though I’m being dragged down to the bottom of the ocean by my emotions, other times I feel as though I am floating on the lightest waves. I have all of these different emotions swimming around my head. My head is the ocean and I have different fish that represent different emotions swimming around inside my head. So illustrated the most common emotions I feel on a day-to-day basis as fish. I illustrated the fish in colours I felt correspond with the emotion the fish represents as well as gave more visual clues to the emotions of the fish, for example, the fish Excitable Baby has a tennis ball as tennis is a very exciting fast-paced sport.

Jade Rawson, Boring Conversation Starter, 2021 As someone that finds a lot of interest in boring things and the conversation they lead to, I illustrated a collection of random boring items on a pool table as waiting for a game of pool is one of the world’s most boring event ever. This poster serves as a map to the boring conversations that these objects may lead to. I can have a ten-minute conversation about my justification of why a banana is the most boring fruit however I have different justifications for why strawberries and cherries are boring. Some objects are more boring than others. Despite the boring subject matter, I still wanted this poster to be engaging and make you actually want to talk about these boring objects which is why I used a bright colour palette. I also incorporated a lot of texture into my objects and grain into my background to add more visual interest.

LEANDRIE DE VOS

Leandrie De Vos, Gloomy Grub World, 2021 Map 2 is a map of food I hate because not only am I a vegetarian but I am debatably the pickiest eater you might ever meet. This led to me creating a map of food I hate, which thus led to the name ‘Gloomy Grub World’. Visually it portrays a dark humor approach of the food we eat and debatably hate finally taking revenge. My colour scheme is bright and ablazed, so the viewer can spot their favourite foods, but when looking closer they notice the darkness of the emotions, specifically the terror portrayed in my face. In the zine, I incorporated a story of this world not only to help my creative process but as a fun add on for the viewer to engage with. In this zine I also spoke about my process behind my map to allow the viewer to engage with the wild journey I went on.

Leandrie De Vos, Locate Leandrie, 2021 Map 1 is called ‘Locate Leandrie’, it is a map showcasing my future fantasy where I am the protagonist in each scene. The map is full of animals that I want to own one day but the animals are immensely over exaggerated. The function is to locate Leandrie and other objects in the map using the checklist. I am intrigued by connecting the audience and artist therefore this map engages with the public in a fun and interactive way. The colours are bright to make it more challenging for the viewer when they partake in the locating. There are white speech bubbles to draw the viewer’s attention to certain parts of the scenes. The speech bubbles include slang that I use in my everyday life to further connect the audience with not only who I am as an artist but who I am as an individual. The zine showcases the characters and stories in this fantastical world.

LYNNE HANBURG

Lynne Hanburg, So...What Are We Eating?, 2021 This map started as a question of “What do I love” and of course, good food, eating, and cooking came up. It hopes to convey the relatable, hyper-focus on food and meals specifically during the covid-19 lockdown periods (but really, if I’m honest, the general hyper-focus myself and my partner have around eating good meals). It is a mix of abstract use of texture and colour with random conversation bits that are thrown around the time that we are eating or are thinking about eating. The aim is to invite the viewer to look a bit closer, have them guessing “What is this?” or saying “Oh, I do that too”.

Lynne Hanburg, Rules, 2021 This map is based on me needing to know “why we still live by outdated values, traditions or beliefs?” It naturally extended to a more personal sphere of messages and values received or perceived while growing up. The map shows “rules” that I accept in my life, which appear within the centre of the composition-These are differentiated with shades of colour and a “lighter tone”. Moving away from the centre on either sides, are “rules” I reject. I’ve expressed my rejection of these “rules” with dirty, messy, smudgy scribbles and intersecting lines.

MELISSA VISSER

Melissa Visser, Just Start Somewhere, 2021 “Just Start Somewhere”. This map imitates the ideation process of an artistic person and the building blocks of one’s creative progress. It represents the abstract hurdles of creativity and the sense of figuring things out. During the ideation process, it feels like you are going nowhere, but your project always seems to eventually end up somewhere. This abstract map was created in a vector formant appearing to be almost recognisable, but not. Making sense of the creative hurdles is left to the viewer’s imagination. There are small fragments in the map representing how one is occupied with your project while going through the ideation process. It shows how you slowly start thinking about it until you are fully occupied with your ideas. After finishing the project your highly-involved thoughts start to settle down until they fade away.

Melissa Visser, Loss of Control, 2021 “Loss of Control”. In this map, I wanted to communicate my personal experience of being both artistic and perfectionistic. The goal was to teach myself how to let go and to give in to both of those sides. This map was made by placing different colours of acrylic paint on a canvas, taking a piece of cardboard and dragging it over the paint.

I challenged my perfectionistic qualities by capitulating to the messy and unpredictable paint smudging. By adding geometric vector shapes over the finished artwork, I gave in to my perfectionistic side. The wording added to the map represents my inner thoughts overthinking while making this artwork. This combination represents all the unexplained ideas going on in my mind. The intended message of this map is a personal lesson that I can’t control everything, even though I try.

MICHELLE DEXTER

Michelle Dexter, The Secret Life of My Sneakers, 2021 The Secret Life of My Sneakers is about hidden gems. It is about inviting the viewer to take a closer look and to question the significance of each element. All of my sneakers have their own stories to tell and evokes a different emotion when wearing them. From stealing road signs to compliments to seeing the best views ever, and to dancing.

This poster is a complete representation of all the secrets my sneakers have. It’s just a matter of looking and not telling. Therefore, I have a question for you: do your s neakers have a secret life that no one knows about?

Michelle Dexter, All The Little Things, 2021 Like Cesare Pavese said, “We do not remember days, we remember moments.” All the little things are about the little things in life. The memories we cherish most and the ones we have forgotten. It is about how we hold on to some things and struggle to let go of others. This poster represents my past and the memories I cling to for dear life. I compartmentalised the accompanying zine into eight different chapters each representing a different part of my life. I encourage you to think about the memories you cherish most and treasure them because you never know when you’ll have to say goodbye to those you love.

MIRIEK JANSEN VAN RENSBURG

Miriek Jansen Van Rensburg, No Girls Allowed, 2021 I grew up in a family of two brothers and three cousins- all boys. Being the only girl in our family contributed to the person I am today on so many levels. One of them being feeling left out. I want this map to be relatable to people who feel out of place, different, not part of a team. I want people to know that its okay to be different, to look different and think differently. Growing up, my grandmother kept a box filled with outfits, props and toys. The boys dressed up as superheroes, pirates, firefighters and monsters... There was also a fairy princess costume, which I was always expected to wear. What if I wanted to be a monster too? This poster’s setting plays off in an ‘all boys clubhouse’. The girl finds her way ‘mapping’ through the structure, interacting with the boys’ things and finally achieving her victory moment when reaching the top – proving everyone wrong!

Miriek Jansen Van Rensburg, Blok Myself, 2021 A wise man once said: “We have to take note of the little things, because one day we will realize they were the big things.” Quotes like these do not make much sense when you’re a child, but now, being the young adult that I am, I tend to linger on quotes like this. I know with certainty that it is indeed the small monuments that shape our lives.

I grew up in a family of two brothers and three cousins- all boys. Being the only girl in our family contributed to the person I am today on so many levels. When we were kids, we visited my grandparents every Sunday. They lived in a big house with a lush garden- the kind of garden kids could play in all day. Thinking back on those days, this is when the Boksombende came into existence. In that fantasy garden we played our favourite game ‘blok myself’ for hours on end. In the safety of my grandparents’ house and abundance of that beautiful garden, the Boksombende could be whoever we chose to be. I took the Sunday rituals for granted and only now realize that they were all factors that turned me into my individual self. I want this boardgame to be relatable to people and for it to serve as a screen to project their own childhood. For me, it is especially important to highlight the theme throughout- the Boksombende, we were different, but the same.

NICOLE VAN NIEKERK

Nicole Van Niekerk, This is Light, 2021 Light. What is light? What does it mean to me? What does it look like to you?

We all have our own interpretations of what light is and how it appears to us. As a photographer, I am constantly studying light, thinking about it, manipulating it to create the perfect outcome and sometimes I even fight with it when the sun is just not playing along. This collec- tion of maps was developed in an attempt to explore how we each have different interpretations of light and how, much like light itself, these interpretations are ever-changing. Whereas the maps show my own exploration of light, the zine is open to interpretation and allows the viewer to hold it up to any type of light and see it changing with every page they turn. An individualized exploration of light, this zine was designed to be as open-ended as light itself.

Nicole Van Niekerk, The Most Loved Cat, 2021 This is the story of Waxie, the most loved cat in the world. Waxie was rescued from life in a factory when he was only 2 days old and a few weeks later he found his forever home. The digitally illustrated map follows Waxie on his nightly adventures inside our house when every- one else is asleep. He goes from napping to star gazing to having conversations with his friend, the parrot to napping in his favourite spot again. The zine was designed to express the same naivety as the map. Based on the structure of a children’s book and with the ultimate happy ending in mind, the zine tells the story of how Waxie feels like the most loved cat in the world and ultimately raises awareness for the #adoptdontshop movement. Waxie’s story is not unique but it is a story of love, hope, new beginnings and happy endings.

ROBYN GEYSER

Robin Geyser, My Life is a Gradient, 2021 My Life is a Gradient is an extremely personal map that considers the four pivotal phases of my life. The top two corners consider the two negative phases and the bottom two corners consider the two positive phases. The inner circle considers the lessons learned or knowledge I gained from the above mentioned phases. This project was extremely uncomfortable for me to complete as I was forced to revisit painful experiences that I have not fully healed from. My reflection on my life is expressed through hyper-specific symbolism that largely remains private. The experience of creating this map allowed me to revisit, reflect, feel and distance myself from my memories. It was an extremely valuable process as it allowed me to consider what I have learned, how I have grown as well as to see the value in the memories I keep to myself.

Robin Geyser, Weaving My Way Home, 2021 Weaving My Way Home considers the increasingly impersonal connections between self and home in the digital age. Decor items are used to simply fill space rather than being symbolic or holding a personal connection. Through the creation of this map, I aimed to establish a deeper connection to my home and home-life through the investigation of how I interact with my personal space. I came to the realisation that I did not have a clear separation between work and personal time at home and often being at home could feel overwhelming as well as comforting. Through the weaving process, which formed the foundation of the map, I aimed to set intentions and wishes that I had for my home life. The process allowed me to develop a deeper connection to my home by considering what makes me feel at home and content.

TAMARA WEETMAN

Tamara Weetman, You Can’t Make A Home Out Of Breadsticks, 2021 You Can’t Make A Home Out Of Breadsticks maps out the statistics and hypocrisy of the breadline. It is a commentary on not only how extremely low the national breadline is, but how the social grant is even lower than the breadline. South Africa’s lowest breadline, otherwise known as the poverty line, is set at R585 per month, which is the government’s estimation of the cost of food for one person for the month. Not only do most news websites put the cost of nutritionally rich food for one at much higher than that, but South Africa’s social grant of R350 per month does not come close to the country’s lowest breadline. The social grant can never be enough money for food for a person, let alone to live on. You Can’t Make A Home Out of Breadsticks attempts to portray that it is not feasible to live below the lowest poverty line. This is done through imagery and text that depict everyday objects from our homes, such as cutlery, but made using bread. The map poses the question: is the poverty line and the social grant really enough money, or is it an illusion, allowing those that are poorest to be defined by what they can afford? Bread.

Tamara Weetman, The Bread and Butter of Brotburg, 2021 As designers, we follow the ‘rules of design’ which we have been taught, because following the rules will result in a visually pleasing, correct outcome. In this map, I challenged both the rules and the grid that accompany typography. The map consists of various rules of typography and how I have ‘broken’ their rules. Swiss Style typography and elements of Bauhaus are featured throughout my map solidifying the concept of typography. This map offers an experimental approach to typography, testing the boundaries of type while asking the question; can I still achieve a design that ‘looks good’ when the rules are not being followed? When taking a closer look at the map, multiple rules can be identified while visually exploring exactly what not to do. By breaking away from the set rules, I challenged my comfort zone as well as my conceptual thinking.

TANYA VERMAAK

Tanya Vermaak, Map of My Creative Process, 2021 This map is about my approach to creating illustrations or art. The map represents a hike. This refers to my creative process as a journey to the top of the highest mountain, or in other words, my final piece of work or my final idea. The zine aims to show more of each part of the process that is represented in the map. Like a little travel guide through my process. My creative process is not always exactly identical, but some aspects seems to repeat themselves. These are the key characteristics of my creative process that I chose to show in my map. The colours represents a kind of dreamy world, showing that this process happens within my mind. In the map there is little details and little surprises that you only see when engaging with the image. These little surprises represent sub-ideas and random thoughts. The fish is my main concept and moves through the journey with me.

Tanya Vermaak, Map of My Memories, 2021 This map is about some of my fondest memories from my childhood. The use of bright colours and patterns support the theme of the map depicting childhood nostalgia. The map is in the shape of a circle with many ‘memory pockets’ inside. In between these ‘pockets’ there is a road running through them. The road refers to going back to these memories, in no particular order. The zine serves as an explanation of each memory, telling us more about each scene. I grew up in an Afrikaans household and therefore, the headings and some of the words used in the zine is represented how I remembered them, like the word “goggaboks” and “spoke”. The paragraph with each scene also serves as a translation along with the explanation. I used patterns, bright colours and play with scale to depict how amazed I was by some of these things. Like through the eyes of a child”.