“The five elements of image generation—paths, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks—were based on the assumption that they constituted recognizable images for the city inhabitant making his way through different parts of the city.”
—Kevin Lynch, Image of the City
The composition of this 18” by 24” poster is always in flux. The bottom graphics—an abstract iteration of Japanese characters (東京 meaning Tokyo) and the small text between them—are the only fixed elements on the black surface. The irregularly shaped, seamlessly placed photographs are detachable. Viewers of the installation are encouraged to interact with the poster by rearranging, removing, and adding photographs.
The poster’s surface represents Tokyo. The bottom graphics create a horizon line for ever-evolving Tokyo to be grounded to. By transforming a 3D environment into a 2D experience, I understood how we remember a place, what we take away from a city we travel to and what visions create a mental imprint of the place that we can always bring ourselves back to.
