Interview for the map project

Interviewee: Ish Houle

The following text is a reflection and summary of the discussion I had on 5/1/2022 with my housemate and close friend Ish Houle.

When I prompted Ish to do this interview with me their initial reaction was surprise since they did not feel as if they had any deep connections or opinions regarding maps. Either way we started talking and our discussion touched on some points that I am exploring in my current map project. The first map that came to Ish’s mind during our conversation is an aerial map of Iceland that hangs on the wall over their bed - I Immediately remembered the map they were speaking of from our shared dorm freshman year. It is rather large, blue and gray toned, with what I would imagine to be the names of roads and towns since I cannot read the Icelandic text. Ish goes on to explain that the map was a gift and has always been something they take with them from place to place. It serves as a placeholder for Iceland itself, since Ish has family ties to Iceland but has never been. During our conversation we began to touch on what objects we chose to keep and why - something that is especially interesting when thinking about how people decorate their rooms as they move homes. We recalled the frenzy of moving out of our college dorm when we were unexpectedly sent home at the beginning of Covid, and into our childhood homes and then back into college and then into new dorms and then to a new house etc etc. In college your space is never quite permanent and looking at what you decide to keep and put up on your walls the next time you move can be intriguing, reflecting random pieces of your life and personality.

Through this conversation, I began thinking about maps in terms of the roles they play in transitions, rather than stagnant reports of spatial information.