Nice indeed for our watercolor maps to be included in the It’s Nice That 2012 Annual. It’s even nicer to receive a hard copy of the beautiful Annual in all its glory, and to see our work nestled amongst gorgeous, creative, dynamic work from around the world.
There’s always a lot of discussion about the future of our cities and this year was no exception with various fads hailed at one time or another as “The Future.” But San Francisco studio Stamen have pretty much nailed how best to bring us closer to our urban environments — show us them in watercolours. Their city-tracking mapping project saw them render various cities in this eye-poppingly gorgeous watercolour tile, an undertaking of huge skill and patience but more worthwhile when you get the chance to look around your own transformed street. Technically masterful and aesthetically stunning — that’s a combination we’ve got a lot of time for.
A couple of my personal favourites from the rest of the Annual include Lauren Marsolier’s lovely constructed, fictional places and the “The Show That…” series including works by Jeremy Deller and Katharina Gross.
