woman with agoraphobia uses google street view to travel to the most remote places

since her early 20s, jacqui kenny has suffered from agoraphobia, an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape. usually, these situations include open spaces, public transit, shopping centers or simply being outside of home. this mental condition limited kenny’s ability to travel, but her desire to discover new places led her to find new ways to see the world via google street view.

images courtesy of jacqui kennedy – the agoraphobic traveler

‘I found a surprising and unique refuge in the creative possibilities of google street view,’ comments jacqui kenny on her webpage. ‘I began clicking through google maps to navigate to faraway countries like mongolia, senegal, and chile. I found remote towns and dusty landscapes, vibrant architectural gems, and anonymous people, all frozen in time. I was intrigued by the strange and expansive parallel universe of street view, and took screenshots to capture and preserve its hidden, magical realms.’

kenny says she has visited almost every country mapped on google street view, taking over 40,000 screenshots from her travelings. ‘I felt like I had so much more control in this world than I did in the real world at that point,’ she told business insider. ‘I could parachute into these countries with no fear of panic attacks, no fear of anxiety, no flying.’

now, and for a limited time, google has given jacqui kenny — known as the agoraphobic traveler on instagram — permission to sell a series of limited edition prints, with all proceedings going to charity. ‘with the help of stories for good, £10 from each print will be going towards the brain and behavior research foundation, a global nonprofit organization focused on improving the understanding, prevention and treatment of mental illnesses,’ she concludes.

head over to her webpage to buy prints or visit her instagram page here.

project info:

name: the agoraphobic traveler

creator: jacqui kenny