Artchipel

Ed Fairburn (UK) - Bartholomew Series. Pencil on original Bartholomew maps of Pembroke (above) and Galloway (below)

Illustrator Ed Fairburn‘s Maps series turns road and subway maps into interesting canvases for his ink and pencil portraits. The artist utilizes the multicolored, patterned surface of each map to serve as an eye-catching attribute that echoes the complex textures found in the human form. Fairburn says, “Emphasis is placed on the ‘fragmented’ texture of the skin, a process which has encouraged my work to evolve from its occupation of plain paper to the potential occupation of other, pre-fragmented or pre-patterned surfaces.” Each winding, converging, and diverging route also bears a striking resemblance to the veins and nerves that make up man. There is a connection between the Earth and mankind reflected in Fairburn’s map portraits that at first is a subtle realization, second to the stunning visual amalgamations.

[more Ed Fairburn | artist found at feel desain]