matthew picton creates paper map sculptures

matthew picton’s paper map sculptures: las vegas

matthew picton is a british-born artist living in oregon, USA. his work is influenced by cartography and the inherent beauty of lines and forms that arise from natural topography and built environments. his series of ‘city sculptures’ look at the organism of the city as an entity which has been shaped by social, political, economic and topographic factors, illustrating a systemic pattern of human civilization. he explores roads at the micro level, tracing miniature byways in cracked sidewalks and alleys.

a continuous visual narrative of a city’s transformation, his sculptures are layers of history, documenting their early beginnings and depicting their contemporary state, expanding beyond their original forms. meticulously built by hand from individual strips of paper, each sculpture is more than a mere three-dimensional city map. picton tries to emphasize a city’s distinct and unique personality. several of his maps depict cities such as venice, london, las vegas or moscow before and after a war of natural disaster, using charred or crumbled paper.

las vegas

moscow 1812

venice

venice (close-up)

dublin 1904

dublin 1904 (close-up)