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Web site now live! Click here to experience Whereabouts...
Whereabouts, the latest installment of Oakville Galleries’s Site Scope public programme, is an interactive Web project that creates a forum for exploring Oakville in a new way. The visually rich experience develops from the memories, lives, and contributions of people from this town. As more people engage with the project, it becomes more revealing, intriguing, and vibrant. What places have shaped the lives of those around you? What secret meanings do these locations hold?
Mapping personal spaces
The core process of Whereabouts is mapping. The act of mapping condenses how we view the world into visual form. There are, of course, many ways to map - each prioritizing different kinds of information. The street map of Oakville, and the SimOakville interactive map offered by the Town, offer a public, shared version of where we live. While the attempt at objectivity makes these official maps useful to a great many people, they omit the details, nuances, and stories that make Oakville an intriguing place to live.
Whereabouts offers a forum for alternative mapping, where your own experiences of Oakville can be located, visualized, and shared. In contrast to the official map, Whereabouts is subjective, shaped by shifts of memory and emotion. It is deeply personal. Unlike a private journal, however, the personal element is not isolated - rather each personal place that is shared becomes a part of the larger Oakville community.
Why not contribute a map of your own? What place, within Oakville, is important to you? Has a particular place touched you in some way? Maybe your life changed direction there -- you made a decision, or something dramatic happened to you. Perhaps it is simply a “secret place” you return to again and again. While a map is enough, another layer of meaning is added by a paragraph explaining why the place is important to you.
A treasure-hunt of meaning
Maps may be admired in their own right, but they mean more when you follow them. Whereabouts encourages you to print the maps on the site, follow the journeys they indicate, and document your reaction to that place or the journey that took you there.
For Phil Irish, artist and creator of Whereabouts, following a personal map is a powerful experience:
"With a hand-drawn map in my hands, the significance of that person’s memory electrifies my own way of seeing. I am filled with curiosity, empathy, and a desire to see beneath the surface. I feel like a pilgrim, seeking something invisible within the everyday world."
As Irish follows as many maps as he can, he will use sketches, paintings, collages, and photographs to document his experiences:
"I seek a metaphor within each location, something that shows the uniqueness of the place, and also alludes to the initial experience of the map-maker."
Whereabouts invites you to experience this quest for yourself. Follow a map from the Web site, decode the riddle of how memory and the physical world match up, and record your findings to share on the Web. As more people contribute to the site, a wealth of personal stories and memories will be mapped for the community to enjoy.
Add your voice to Whereabouts! Here’s how you can get involved…
- Visit the Whereabouts Web site at: http://www.oakvillegalleries.com/sitescope/whereabouts/index.htm
- Draw a map to a place that is meaningful to you. Upload it to the Web site, or download another map and follow it.
- If you follow a map, send in your response to the journey and place. You can share drawings, photographs, or words.
- Check the Web site for a list of dates and times this fall to follow a map with Phil Irish. A group will share the experience of discovering a site together. We will visually document our responses, creating a diverse record of a particular location in the community.
Maps, drawings, photographs and words can be uploaded directly to the Web site, or sent by mail to:
Phil Irish
c/o Oakville Galleries
1306 Lakeshore Road East
Oakville, ON
L6J 1L6
You can also make an appointment to talk to Phil Irish through his e-mail address at: resident@oakvillegalleries.com
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Whereabouts is generously supported by a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
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