I work from my studio in East Sussex, where I research and draw Music Maps and Plotline Maps charting the recorded histories of bands and solo artists, film narratives, and political events. The research pulls together information from scattered and often overlooked sources, details that have not been compiled in one place before.
By connecting data from interviews, album liner notes, session archives and historical context, I find relationships and patterns across artists and genres. I then translate that research into transit-style maps, turning complex musical histories into something a viewer can read at a glance and then stand in front of for an hour.
Selecting the Subject: From Music Icons to Cultural Narratives
When choosing a subject for a music map, I look for artists with long discographies and a real influence on the music around them. Often it is fans, or family members of the artists, who ask for a particular map, which adds a personal layer to the work. For films and political events, I look for plots and historical moments that lend themselves to being drawn as a network.
Gathering and Organising the Data
Research is the bulk of the job. For a music map I begin by compiling the artist's studio albums in chronological order. I then work through the credits for each album to identify every musician involved, which usually means sifting several sources and cross-referencing them before I trust a single name. Once the data is stable, I start correlating it to lay the groundwork for the map.
For films, the process means breaking the plot into key points, characters and their relationships. For political maps, I track significant events, alliances and shifts in power, organising the data into something logical enough to draw.
The Design Phase: Precision and CAD Software
Once the research is settled, I plot the map using 2D CAD software. It is an uncommon tool for artwork, but it gives me the precision these maps need. Each line represents a musician, a character or a political thread, while intersections mark the moments that matter: album releases, character encounters, shifts in power. Every element is drawn individually, and the layout is then worked over for clarity as much as for looks.
Mapping Film Plots: Translating Stories into Visual Form
When mapping movie plots, the aim is to translate story structure into a diagram. Characters get their own lines, and significant plot points or twists become intersections. The method keeps the narrative clear even when the plot is non-linear. The challenge is holding on to simplicity without losing the parts of the story that matter.
How the Prints Are Made
Every finished map is a Giclée on 230gsm textured matte fine art paper, archival and acid-free, hand-designed without AI. Prints come in three A sizes and three inch formats, the inch formats being separate formats rather than conversions of the A sizes.
- A3, 420 x 297 mm, unframed only, £35
- A2, 594 x 420 mm (23 x 16 in), £45 unframed or £125 in a black wood frame
- A1, 841 x 594 mm (33 x 23 in), £65 unframed or £175 in a black wood frame
- 16x12 in, 24x18 in and 36x24 in, priced the same way
Black is the only frame colour I offer, and A3 is unframed only.