Escape Map | Season Trends
The evasion charts were secretly given to soldiers, as early as the First World War, to enable them to escape from behind enemy lines when caught or confined. They used to be made of silk, fine cloth or other durable materials and were stitched into clothing or hidden in unthinkable places like Monopoly, playing cards and even inside spools of cotton thread in sewing kits. In extreme or complicated circumstances, they were the only route to salvation. This story is about the routes and paths to be followed when going from a starting point to a set destination. To escape or simply to achieve an objective. Whether in pursuit of psychophysical wellbeing, to get a better perception of ourselves or to alleviate day-to-day stress, that destination is a ‘place’ to be reached one step at a time. But the journey towards that place is itself a process with the power to save. So, let’s dig out old maps, follow precise coordinates, pore over celestial routes, use all of our senses, even those we have been neglecting, to find our way again. Let’s smell the air, listen to background noises, look for signs along hidden paths that will lead us back to the main road. Let’s observe the colours of old geographical charts to distinguish the characteristics of the terrain: the dark green of mountains, the pale green of plateaus, the deep blue of the rivers, the light blue of the seas. Let’s set our inner compass and place trust in it, in the stars and in the wind rose as we move towards finding ourselves again. As we slowly walk and listen, we realize that we are abandoning the recognizable past and heading towards an unknown future, but in the meantime we are focused on the here and now, which is what we need. The chart is a tool guiding us along a spiritual path, a journey that finally reconnects us with ourselves and to the universe around us.
Research: Anna Maroncelli for Autumn/Winter 2024.25 season.
