Counter-Cartographies Artist Talk with Lize Mogel

Lize Mogel is an interdisciplinary artist and counter-cartographer. She has mapped public parks in Los Angeles, future territorial disputes in the Arctic, and wastewater economies in New York City. Mogel is co-editor of An Atlas of Radical Cartography, a project that significantly influenced the conversation and production around mapping and activism. Her exhibitions include the Sharjah (United Arab Emirates), Gwangju (South Korea) and Pittsburgh Biennials, Greater New York (MoMA PS1, New York City), Experimental Geography, and Diagrams of Power (OCAD, Toronto).

In her talk, Mogel will discuss her artistic practice of “counter-cartography,” in which she uses maps and mapping to challenge the mainstream narrative of a site or its history from a political or activist perspective. Counter-mapping uses cartographic conventions—including data, images, and language— to analyze and represent power dynamics, as part of a collective effort working towards social change. Mogel’s installation Area of Detail, which is featured in the exhibition Exploring the Arctic Ocean, examines the political and legal implications of an increasingly ice-free Arctic Ocean in a changing climate.

Moderated by Paul C. Adams, Professor and Director of Urban Studies, Department of Geography and the Environment, The University of Texas at Austin

Organized by the Department of Art and Art History and the Department of Geography and the Environment, The University of Texas at Austin.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Exploring the Arctic Ocean.