Introducing a "haptic map" prototype
What is a "haptic map"?
Our version of a haptic map is an interactive art installation concept intended to teach you Indigenous and non-Indigenous place names, or toponyms.
Haptic refers to a sense of touch, but also position and motion. It is similar in approach to a tactile map, as in this example of a braille map of the lands known also as Canada.
Our haptic map's first prototype, the Untitled ṮEṮÁĆES map, combines SENĆOŦEN and English language toponyms. A key feature of this map is that interacting with it in some way will allow you to hear place names being spoken.
The Untitled ṮEṮÁĆES map has islands that speak their name aloud in both SENĆOŦEN and English when you move them around. The Untitled ṮEṮÁĆES map features lands in W̱SÁNEĆ Territory.
Why build a haptic map?
The haptic map has two, broad aspirations:
- to encourage us to think about how we experience connections to place through landscape and place names
- to provide new ways to learn orally about Indigenous and settler namescapes through curiosity and play
Our version of a haptic map is intended to represent landscape aesthetically in some way, but without the typical Western Anglo, or W̱ENITEM, cartographic marks like roads, signs, and borders. Our map invites you to engage physically and creatively with its artistic topography and to learn place names in unconventional ways.
Who made the first haptic map?
The Untitled ṮEṮÁĆES map was built collaboratively. Kim Shortreed came up with this concept for a "haptic map" as part of his PhD project, "Contracolonial Practices in Salish Sea Namescapes." Kim brought the idea to TEMOSEṈ (Chazz Elliott) and they co-created the concept for the Untitled ṮEṮÁĆES map. TEMOSEṈ designed and carved the outside panels with help from Matthew Parlby-Elliott. Kim built the map's structure (with help from TEMOSEṈ, Matt, and Ben Olsen) and the interactive islands. Jesse Campbell painted the seascape horizon.
See the Credits and Hí sw̱ Ke/gratitudes post to learn more about all the folks and organizations that made this project possible!
Read more about TEMOSEṈ or more about me and why I am doing this work on the My Current Perspective page.
Can I build my own version of a haptic map?
Yes! The goal of our haptic-map concept and this blog is to inspire other communities to make their own versions of haptic maps in whatever way that works for them. This blog focuses on the making of the Untitled ṮEṮÁĆES map, which has its own design and construction journey, but we want to encourge others to build on what we have done to imagine something new.
What next?
See the Updates page for more about the Untitled ṮEṮÁĆES map. If you have any questions about anything, please get in touch using the contact form at the bottom of any post.