Creative Mapping

Let's get lost is an experimental short film on a different quality of mapping. The film displays the history of a clandestine movement in cartography called Cartopopo - Cartographia por el popolo which follows the utopian goal of turning maps into tools of emancipation - not only mere measuring devices. There research is linked to a South America expedition by Swiss cartographers who decide to measure fictional intensities of certain spots and eventually they manage to create a prototype, the Multi Dimensional Mapping Device. But it all goes wrong and the machine supposedly turns people into fictional characters… In front of the backdrop of measuring fictional intensity, the film addresses current issues in cartography and information technology such as augmented reality, collecting, evaluating and visualizing data, and eye tracking cameras.

This video presents the sensibility maps designed by Élise Olmedo - a researcher and a sensibility mapper - with Emmanuelle Kanyiganwa. Emmanuelle Kayiganwa is a survivor of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. She shared her life story in 2009 in a three-hour interview as part of the ‘Montreal Life Stories’ research project. Based on this story, Élise co-created with Emmanuelle a series of sensibility maps that were showcased during two exhibitions entitled "Mapping Memories" (Montreal 2023 & Kigali 2024). This video presents the part of the exhibition dedicated to sensibility mapping that took place in Montreal in 2023.