Not a Mapmaker: Gareth Fuller on Creating Maps of the Mind

By Hannah Truby

Though he acknowledges many would call him a “mapmaker,” Gareth Fuller doesn’t particularly care for the label.

“It’s a bit cliché and doesn't get to the heart of what I create,” he says. “But what they are, are maps of the mind.”

Fuller’s works aren’t about giving directions, but about creating meaning. His intricate, hand-drawn compositions—while impractical for navigation—offer a multidimensional glimpse into the identity of various cities, emphasizing the deep emotional connections between people and place.

“The physical markers and the man-made environment are not necessarily where a lot of the stories are,” Fuller explains. “The concept of place is highly emotional.”

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Fuller has always been interested in storytelling, the idea of truth, and the process of seeking information to find it—traits he credits to his time working in the journalism sector. Before becoming an artist, Fuller worked in London in a newsroom, first as an apprentice, then moved on to roles in production, graphic design, adventure travel, and documentary filmmaking.

As his creative process is largely rooted in walking—with bonus points for getting lost—Fuller is as much an explorer as he is an artist. Employing what he calls “pedestrian discovery,” he navigates his muse city, favoring less-trodden routes. This approach better facilitates the next step in his process: talking to as many people as possible.

“I think the art attempts to tell a much deeper story than a digital map can,” Fuller says. “Once you start delving into a community and its history—and even its future—you’ve got thousands of hours of drawing that must be condensed into far less. And even if it’s not a city, someone will say, ‘Oh, it’s just trees and power lines,’ and it’s like, no, no, no, there’s a lot more going on here. But like a journalist, it’s not until you go knocking and peeling back the layers that you find it.”

Currently, Fuller is working on a drawing of the D.C. area—one of the more daunting projects he's taken on–and people there have been more than eager to share their stories and opinions about the place.

A portion of Fuller's WASHINGTON D.C. piece

“People really wear their hearts on their sleeves in the U.S.,” Fuller says with a smile. “I really like that about American culture. But after a while in D.C., I had to stop talking to so many people because I was running out of time. So many people wanted to tell me their stories about the city. I feel a bit like I've opened a tin of worms with this project.”

If trying to encompass the essence of a place—complete with histories, attitudes, and stories—sounds like a nearly impossible task, it’s because it is, and Fuller often wrestles with how to best translate it all.

“How do I put this onto paper?” he asks. “Because it’s highly personal, you know, drawing about a place that belongs to its residents. I get nervous about what I'm drawing. I try to always punch up, not down, and pay tribute to the human story.”

Fuller’s methods stand in stark contrast to those used to create traditional maps—in both approach and outcome. 

For one, maps can distort reality in the physical sense—cartographers have wrestled with this challenge for centuries, attempting to flatten the ellipsoidal Earth onto flat pieces of paper. They offer only a two-dimensional view of the world, reducing complex places to simple data points like street names or boundary lines.

Secondly, by capturing personal narratives and reflecting lived experiences, Fuller’s maps are, in some ways, more ethical than traditional ones. Throughout history—and I promise to keep this brief—cartography has served as a tool of power. Mapmakers have drawn arbitrary borders, expropriated territories, and displaced communities. They tell certain stories while leaving out others.

THE COFFEE RUSH \ The work represents the first instance in Fuller’s practice where geography is drawn onto a three-dimensional object – a coffee cup. The work celebrates the diversity of immigrant communities in Brixton, London and the effects of gentrification on local life.

QUARANTINE + PANDEMIC SURVIVAL MAP

While he wouldn’t necessarily call himself an activist, Fuller believes there’s a bit of activism in all of us—and I, for one, think his work is radical in nature, whether intentional or not. 

By including the voices, stories, and histories that shape a place, his maps challenge the way we think about location, move beyond half-truths, and offer a more comprehensive story.

“You might not choose your cause, but if you're looking for the story, you always have to make a decision on where you go with it. I don't try to activate the viewer, but some of the drawings I suspect will do that, but they're there to create conversation and resonate some kind of emotional understanding of a place that we all share–universally or individually.”

Fuller hopes that his artworks inspire people to step outside their front door, explore places–familiar or foreign–and perhaps look at them a little differently.

“Because my process is so pedestrian and physical, the art encourages the idea of exploration and play in the environment,” he says. “I'd like to think the art inspires people in that respect–for them to dive deeper into a place that they potentially really love or they spend time in.”

Visit https://www.garethfuller.com/ to see more of Gareth’s work.