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A detail of Walter's quirky map |
An indie kid's guide to the capital
Royal Academy of Arts fellow Stephen Walter tells Sara Newman how he set about his magnum opus – a quirky map of the entire
Greater London area
IT'S not any old historical map. On closer inspection the scrawl becomes legible and Royal Academy of Arts fellow Stephen Walter’s eccentric brand of cartography comes into focus.
Only one 33rd of his great achievement is seen above for, astonishingly, he has actually mapped out all the London boroughs in his own idiosyncratic style. Part boozers’ and art-lovers’ guide and part historic and satirical account of London life, The Island: London Series will exhibit all 33 maps at St Pancras Crypt in Euston Road from February 11.
For his highbrow research, Walter trawled Peter Ackroyd’s biography of London and antique maps. For trivia he used Wikipedia and newspapers.
Many of the legends that have made the page may not be entirely accurate. Whether a Man From Kent owned Kentish Town, or if the oldest settlement in Camden derived its name from the Old English word “Ken” meaning ditch, referring to the now-paved over River Fleet, remains unconfirmed by historians. Equally, the rumour that Guy Fawkes waited to see Parliament explode from Parliament Hill has also been challenged.
But the graphite drawing, although geographically accurate, transcends truth and focuses on the relationship people have with the place.
Walter – a “bit of an Indie kid myself” – includes his own memories such as when he managed to jam his head between the closing doors of a train while asking fellow commuters its designated journey.
The 32-year-old has affectionately renamed Chalk Farm Road, with its venues such as the Barfly and Electric Ballroom, as Indie Mile.
His squashed writing, barely readable in places, comments on the overdevelopment of the city.
The Island, like Britain, is surrounded by smaller islands with the salubrious destinations of Theatreland and the site of Frieze Art Fair in Hyde Park on the coast.
Walter pays homage to the more radically motivated figures of history including Emmeline Pankhurst, Karl Marx, Jack Straw and the Angry Brigade, a group responsible for a string of bomb attacks in 1970s.
He said: “When you think of Camden you think of the gigs, the lock and the Stables Market. I’m really against the developers taking away that piece of our heritage.” He added: “I could make umpteen London maps now but I have to look after my own sanity.”
It’s anyone’s guess how his next venture, a map of Berlin, will save him but it would be a disservice to our European relatives to dissuade him.
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