The Arts & Culture Journal

It's fair to say we don't get that many cartographers coming through the virtual office doors of Fallyrag Towers. From memory I can recall just the one - Mark Andrew Webber and his mesmerising collection of typographic maps. And yet, today, we are showcasing another genius of such geographical creations. Ladies and gentlemen, rattle your compasses and shake those walking boots for Shane Watt.

Shane is a mapmaker, songwriter, producer and recording engineer based in Montreal, Canada. He has been making these thematic maps for 2 years and it has to be said, has turned it into a bit of an art form.

But first, a little bit about these maps. By now you have probably realised that these aren't you average AA road maps. Shane brings to cartography a real creativity - each map is not merely a visual recording of an area (the areas do exist but let's say there's a generous helping of artistic license) but something far more engaging. Each sprawling illustration offers the viewer a story. Embedded with secrets for you to decipher they're a little bit like a treasure hunt.

Shane explains: “At a primary level I think of my maps as the stories of my life. They represent and reference the people and topics that intrigue me and provide an outlet for me to convey my thoughts and feelings on the world.

“I've chosen to work with cartography as an art form because of the sense of discovery and mystery that maps provide. No place exists in a bubble, they all reach out and interact with one another just as people do....they have secrets to keep which can be uncovered...just like the cities I create.”

Shane is a self-confessed ‘outsider artist.’ Completely self taught, his work has developed with a sense of excitement and freshness that can all too often be lost in institutionally trained artists. There is no