“Complex” maps that may make you lose your way...what do they mean?

British artist Gareth Fuller draws complex “mental maps” of the places he visits. Sometimes that means spending decades walking around those places to get the right sense of place. Fuller said in an interview with Ofoq News that when he explores cities, he is always looking for “corners that can be uncovered” and “hidden meanings,” as he spends a lot of time walking the land, sometimes taking up to 9 months.

“A big part of what I do is documenting my journey and research around the city, and meeting people along the way,” he added. These experiences are transformed into paintings in Fuller's work, where he focuses on tragedies, folklore, comedy, and culture. “This is where the city really lies in my mind,” he explains.

It's not always obvious landmarks that give a city its true identity.” Fuller noted that through his art, he explores the landscape and environment as a space of memory and imagination, adding: “I think, in a way, I'm mapping the emotional terrain.”

Fuller then works in his pen-and-ink studio drawing on cotton boards, delving into the research, notes, and photographs he has collected. The British artist pointed out that when he starts drawing, he tends to the natural terrain, draws rivers and hills, then adds features, and begins to shape the face, which reflects the culture, memories, ideas, and experiences that shaped him.