One of the most fascinating things about maps is the variety of purposes they serve. Maps can help us navigate, tell stories about the past, track current events, visit faraway places, and more. But aside from more pragmatic uses, maps can also serve as art.
This map of Salt Lake City from Abu Dembélé is a breathtaking example of a map as a piece of art. Drawn with a single, continuous line, it depicts the familiar shapes of Utah’s largest city through the clever use of negative space.
A close look at the map reveals an unbroken series of squiggles, curves, and switchbacks that seem to meander. When you zoom in, the shapes appear to be random. But as you look at the whole map, you can recognize several distinct features in the empty spaces.
The most obvious feature is the city’s road network. Freeways, interchanges, and highways carve negative spaces through the map. Arterial roads and major streets highlight grids and the patterns of tract-home developments. You can also see the city’s airport complex in the northwest, complete with a plane symbol. Lakes and other bodies of water like marshlands also appear.
At the bottom of the map, you’ll find a representation of Salt Lake City’s flag, as well as the city’s name and nickname, and even a scale bar. Thicker strokes in the extreme upper left and lower right denote the respective start and end of the single, continuous line.
Dembélé estimates his maps take about 30 hours to create. The days-long production cycle seems like a fair trade for a mesmerizing piece of art that will inspire wonder and awe for years to come.
More to Explore
- Discover more of Dembélé’s one-line maps.
- Watch Dembélé create these pieces of art.
