At first, you see a map with all the expected signs and symbols but as you look closer, a hand emerges and slowly a pattern forms. And that’s what Catherine Bebout’s exhibition Prints: Cartographic Journeys is all about. An exploration of the world of maps with her unique signature, the exhibition combines her passion for travel with her interest in papermaking and cartography — the art of making maps.

As she explains “Cartography has been used throughout history to inform, as well as distort perceptions of the world. My recent work intertwines these conceptual themes with multiple processes in printmaking ranging from the traditional to digital in the creation of unique impressions in monoprint.”

Bebout’s interest in cartography began on a trip to China. She realised that maps are not just used to navigate towards a particular destination as a merely practical utility but as promises of discovery: “They are indicators of that particular culture. They tell stories, they incite fantasies, they affirm dominion, they promise wealth, and they lure the adventurous to fame or disaster”.

Elaborating on this theme Bebout philosophises that maps can also “help one to navigate through life and its impact and consequences” For Bebout, the process begins with “a glimmer of the idea or just a vague concept”. She has a visual library of old maps, colonial postcards and graphics which form the base of her works. The idea is then processed, variations are created and the final piece takes shape. She uses traditional methods such as etching, lithography, silkscreen printing and then uses photography and emerging digital technologies like Photoshop to get the feel of authentic ancient-looking maps. “I want to create visual and metaphorical travelogues with a sense of travelling back and forth in time for the viewer.”

Her works are not just about nostalgia. Bebout also conveys a message through her works. Big Fish Eat Little Fish shows a big fish with its belly slit and smaller fish pouring out through the slit; the work depicts “the futility of greed”. Similarly Cycles depicts the life cycle of a parasite on the backdrop of a jungle map and but a closer look reveals “the sensory awareness of the organic nature and duality of life — the parasite causes diseases but at the same time it also cleans up the nature”.

She believes that all life on this planet is interconnected and that is what she looks to represent through her work. Here in India on a Fulbright research scholarship Bebout is exploring the craft of hand papermaking, along with visiting artist’s studios around the country to “experience the process of Indian paper making which has a rhythmic flow”.

She talks about how India still maintains its rich history of printing from hand carved using pigments made from vegetable dyes. She is looking to extend her stay in India “to explore the patterns of personal aesthetics that abound in India”.