Stuart McAdam

GPS Drawing, Ongoing

Everywhere I go recorded with a GPS tracker

~Repetitive Lines to fall for, they pick us up and let us go

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I've used GPS tracking for a while in my work. I've tracked the big trips and walks I've done but in the last decade I've traced everywhere I've been and used the data to produce monthly and annual images. These maps document where I've been but they also have had an unexpected emotional effect on me when I look back at them. I remember details about places such as the first (and current) walks that I've taken with my two dogs.

What started as an attempt to draw where I went as a deliberate gesture became an ambiguous mixture of letting the GPS follow me, and consciously leading it along. It's a mundane habit but I enjoy the action of tracking myself. I intend to do this for the rest of my life.

Initially I used a garmin device and didn't separate the tracks very well. In 2019 I dropped my bag and broke the unit and since then I've used an app and a different file sorting system. I now have complete walking / cycling / car and public transport data from 2019 onwards. I'll eventually compile the previous data into images.

Below are the output images of the years 2000 - 2024.