Gravity—whether a physical or a spiritual force—creates new worlds on every scale. Like the accretion of matter from which stars and planets form, humans build structures that attract more humans. And in the same way we know that the star we orbit is the Sun, we as humans know when the building we are in is home. These truths are not arbitrary.

As conscious beings, we are always looking for patterns in the assembly of matter and energy that makes up our surroundings. Like shapes in the clouds or constellations in a sky of stars, we see discrete things in an arbitrary continuum. For the sake of survival, we name the things that recur, keeping a record in our brains for later reference. This is the library where our experiences are written and re-written, where our reality is folded and unfolds.

Our species has a history of drawing pictures in the stars. In this series, instead of looking up, I wonder what patterns we would find if we looked down at ourselves from space with the same wonder. Referencing satellite images, I catalogue circular structures in my home city of Toronto. With ink on paper, I draw the space in between the circles to scale. If this intervening space—streets, sidewalks, structures—is the field over which landmarks impact one another, then our lives are the medium.

To see a map of the sites, click here.