Maps are a representation of reality and aim to objectively visualize a place from above; it’s contours, vegetation, roads, buildings, rivers, deserts, etc. The lines and colors on a map are static, they say ‘this is the truth’ even though their subjects are dynamic; new buildings emerge, glaciers get smaller, mountains erode, and the shoreline never is a straight static line.
Nowadays we turn to maps to find our way, they are highly accurate and one click away on our phones. We might use apps from small companies or from big tech, we let them guide us in our way, how much do they simultaneously guide us in our understanding of the world? What name do they call the land, what borders to they draw? Do those align with our political values? And do they do justice to all living beings in a place?
For Cyling Art Research, (CAR) I hosted a workshop/research event in collaboration with Platte Gang on the 28th of September 2025. During the workshop we playfully discovered how our bikes and cycling can help us visualize the temporal dimensions of the sea.
After an introduction into cartography and the history of maps we rode along the north sea, curving our way over the sand as we individually followed the incoming and outgoing of the waves. Tire traces weaving, we each tracked the ever changing and ever temporal shoreline of land ending- and sea beginning. Comparing lines that are mapped in the blue of the sea we discussed the (non)-realism and (non)-objectiveness of maps. We each experimented with ways to bring the ever changing nature of living in time into the visualization of our map.