Mental journey

Stefan Sous – Plan A

24.12.2020
Stefan Sous, Plan A, 2020, digital print on fabric, ca. 3,20 x 30 m, Courtesy of the artist, © VG Bild- Kunst, Bonn 2020

Where are we? Where do we want to go? At least geographically, maps can provide answers and offer orientation in an unknown environment. They help to determine one’s position. For decades, city maps, which were usually too large and could only be folded according to precise instructions, were a steady accessory on every journey, visibly branding its users as lost and not familiar with their location.

With his spatial installation Plan AStefan Sous takes us back to a time without digital navigation systems and assigns us the role of the seeker. The scanned and scaled section of the Aachen city map connects precisely to the actual surroundings outside the museum. The visitors are literally integrated into the map. The game with the shifted perspective, the change between image and reality, is reinforced by the apparent alignment of the upper third of the wall. A reconsideration of our position, not only on-site, seems more than pressing.

AK