whereabouts offers an alternative way of mapping. Official maps, with their measured accuracy and goal of being useful to all, leave out the mysterious way that places get inside our minds. Wherabouts, however, is mapping how places tell stories, hold memories, and carry meaning.

Click on the QuickTime icon to watch a video presentation about whereabouts. (Click here to get QuickTime).

I will be collecting maps, drawn by people like you. The maps are to places that have special significance for you: places with strong associations, where perhaps decisions were made, accidents happened or solace was sought. Why not contribute a hand-drawn map to one of your "sacred sites"?

For me, your personal maps and stories become pilgrimage routes. I follow as many maps as possible and keep my eyes open, in a heightened experience of empathy, to learn something about that place. During my pilgrimages, I use a range of methods to document my experiences: painting, drawing, photography, collage, video, and notes. I then condense what I have learned, creating Web-pages that embody my subjective response to your maps.

Through the interactive possibilities of the Web, you will also have the chance to follow others’ maps, and experience your community through new eyes. Each pair -- image and map -- will be posted on the Web together.

This project prompts certain questions: How do we share subjective experience? How do we interpret the experiences of others? Taken as a whole, a wonderful diversity of locations and voices will be celebrated in visual form.

The focus of this site is the town of Oakville, Canada - but the experiences and geographies recorded here point to universal themes.

Throughout the site, we refer to hand drawn maps describing how to get to the location as 'maps', and artwork or text descriptions of these locations as 'interpretations'. Vistors can share their opinions of the artwork or text interpretations in the form of 'comments'.

The large map before you is a little hard to read. This map is divided up into a grid of seven zones, simply click on a flag, in an area that interests you, to see a close-up of that area of Oakville. If you're interested in adding your own map, you can click anywhere on the map to see a close-up view of the map.

The numbers on the flags represent the amount of 'story content' presented in a particular area. Flags with the highest numbers have more maps, artwork interpretations, and comments than locations with lesser numbers.

Explore! Enjoy! Connect with other people's stories. Further into the site, you will get a chance to add your own personal stories!