Every Bus Stop in Surrey, BC
To complete Every Bus Stop in Surrey, BC, Sylvia spent a year between 2003-04 creating a composite portrait of the City of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. Her images collectively created a new kind of digital map or "snapshot" highlighting different aspects of Surrey’s diverse geography and neighbourhoods. Every Bus Stop in Surrey, BC maps the city for both residents and viewers, and asks each to reconsider their own geography.
The work consists of just over 800 individual bus stops chronicled across 380 square kilometres. The artist walked kilometre long blocks in rural Surrey, in other areas, borrowed and rented cars. Sylvia has come to know Surrey in a way few of its residents have ever seen it. Her work is aligned both with the practice of documentary photography, concerned with the careful choice and framing of its subject and composition, as well as conceptual frameworks of salvage. The entire city became her artwork through its transit grid.
Influenced by previous works such as Simon Patterson’s “The Great Bear,” Ed Ruscha’s photo-books, and, the work of Bernd and Hilla Becher and Alan Sekula, she was interested in challenging audiences’ perceptions of how information is understood, consumed, documented and interpreted. On a formal level her project’s documents explore ideas and relationships of image and colour, while also examining issues around archiving and information architecture.
The project, a large scale, gridded composite of every bus stop in Surrey, BC as it title suggests presents a blizzard of site-specific information which also becomes an informal portrait of the city’s own topography, and urban histories. Every Bus Stop in Surrey, BC was completed as a film loop, series of exhibition photographs, and pioneering net piece; wherein, viewers can transverse a Surrey city map and examine photographic details of each bus stop street location. This early net artwork was produced and launched in 2004 in collaboration with Art Engine (Ottawa) and Firebox Design (Sean Beldon). Of note the net artwork's layout and function may have become the inspiration for Google Streetview. Every Bus Stop in Surrey, BC as an online work pre-dates the launch of Google Streetview by nearly 2 years.
Every Bus Stop in Surrey, BC was accessible between May 25, 2004 - Jan 12, 2021 at http://www.artengine.ca/~busstop; however, with the end of the Adobe Flash being supported on browsers this piece has since stopped operating.
To complete Every Bus Stop in Surrey, BC, Sylvia spent a year between 2003-04 creating a composite portrait of the City of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. Her images collectively created a new kind of digital map or "snapshot" highlighting different aspects of Surrey’s diverse geography and neighbourhoods. Every Bus Stop in Surrey, BC maps the city for both residents and viewers, and asks each to reconsider their own geography.
The work consists of just over 800 individual bus stops chronicled across 380 square kilometres. The artist walked kilometre long blocks in rural Surrey, in other areas, borrowed and rented cars. Sylvia has come to know Surrey in a way few of its residents have ever seen it. Her work is aligned both with the practice of documentary photography, concerned with the careful choice and framing of its subject and composition, as well as conceptual frameworks of salvage. The entire city became her artwork through its transit grid.
Influenced by previous works such as Simon Patterson’s “The Great Bear,” Ed Ruscha’s photo-books, and, the work of Bernd and Hilla Becher and Alan Sekula, she was interested in challenging audiences’ perceptions of how information is understood, consumed, documented and interpreted. On a formal level her project’s documents explore ideas and relationships of image and colour, while also examining issues around archiving and information architecture.
The project, a large scale, gridded composite of every bus stop in Surrey, BC as it title suggests presents a blizzard of site-specific information which also becomes an informal portrait of the city’s own topography, and urban histories. Every Bus Stop in Surrey, BC was completed as a film loop, series of exhibition photographs, and pioneering net piece; wherein, viewers can transverse a Surrey city map and examine photographic details of each bus stop street location. This early net artwork was produced and launched in 2004 in collaboration with Art Engine (Ottawa) and Firebox Design (Sean Beldon). Of note the net artwork's layout and function may have become the inspiration for Google Streetview. Every Bus Stop in Surrey, BC as an online work pre-dates the launch of Google Streetview by nearly 2 years.
Every Bus Stop in Surrey, BC was accessible between May 25, 2004 - Jan 12, 2021 at http://www.artengine.ca/~busstop; however, with the end of the Adobe Flash being supported on browsers this piece has since stopped operating.
C-41 prints | 2003-04
Some notes and reflections about producing Every Bus Stop in Surrey, BC
September 2020
To provide context to the project development of ‘Every Bus Stop in Surrey, BC’ in 2003-04 and its original intent – it was focused on documenting Surrey's 'civic infrastructure' as it stood in place at a given point in time within and outside of the City of Surrey.
The artwork was conceived as a civic infrastructure framing influenced by an international photographic movement associated with Topographics photography which included artists such as Robert Adams, Lewis Baltz, Nicholas Nixon and Bernd and Hiller Becher. Each of these photographers depicted 'matter of factly' urban interjections and serial imagery, such as parking lots, suburban housing and warehouses, for example.
The title 'Every Bus Stop in Surrey, BC' (2004) is a reference to the conceptual photographer, Ed Ruscha, who produced
the artwork 'Every Building on Sunset Strip' (1966) which is a 25-foot length accordion-folded book that affords the viewer two continuous photographic views of the mile and a half section of the landmark stretch of Sunset Strip in Los Angeles.
‘Every Bus Stop in Surrey, BC’ was similarly intended to be a conceptual document addressing civic infrastructure by depicting what is there, and by this action, indirectly commenting on what is missing. Typical of the New Topographics photographic style people are not represented, although some of the bus stop images inadvertently depict people as part of the overall narrative.
Related to the online map, the grid structure followed the layout of a BC Transit map published in 2002-03 (about the time of the online map development). The original print material is held at the Surrey Art Gallery for reference with the archives of the artwork.
Sylvia acknowledges as an artist who has worked in the City of Surrey, she has photographed on the shared unceded and traditional territories of the Semiahmoo, Katzie, Kwikwetlem, Kwantlen, Qayqayt and Tsawwassen First Nations. She pays respect to the Elders, past and present, and to future generations.
The First Peoples' Map (https://maps.fpcc.ca/) can be used to view BC's Indigenous language regions, artists and artworks, place names and community landmarks. You can hear the pronunciation of language names, greetings, places and more. All of the 34 languages Indigenous to what is now called British Columbia are represented. The First Peoples’ Map was created by First Peoples’ Cultural Council in collaboration with First Nations communities and Indigenous artists, language champions, Elders, Knowledge Keepers and cultural workers. The content is created and contributed by these community experts. Other interactive map resources such as Native Land (2015), Whose Land (2017) and Indigenous Peoples Atlas (2018) can help identify territories. As always maps are fluid and ever changing and can be used as educational tools to create dialogue around reconciliation.
Project reviews
2020
A critical discussion about the artist's development of Every Bus Stop in Surrey, BC is included in the book, Shifting Perspectives, co-published by Surrey Art Gallery and Heritage House Publishers (Canada) A full catalogue can be accessed and downloaded at www.surrey.ca/arts-culture/surrey-art-gallery/gallery-publications/exhibition-catalogues/shifting-perspectives
2014
Bula, Frances. “Art Beyond Stereotypes: Are suburbs the next great creative frontier?” in Literary
Review of Canada, April 2014 http://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2014/04/art-beyond-stereotypes/
2013
Tormey, Jane. Project citations for “Every Bus Stop in Surrey,BC” and “Capital Cities” in the book Cities and Photography Routledge Press, 2013 ISBN 978-0-415-56440-3
2012 Yee, Chris. ‘Local Eyes; Beyond Vague Terrain’ in The Runner Magazine, January 2012.
http://runnermag.ca/2012/01/local-eyes-beyond-vague-terrain/
2009
Critical essay about ‘Every bus stop in Surrey, BC’ in “Postmodern Aesthetics as Obscene Super-ego:
Anxieties of Photography,” by Clint Burnham in the book:
Function/fiction : utilitarian images reconfigured – Sylvia Grace Borda, Tacita Dean, Rod Dickinson,
Michael Klier, Manu Luksch, Chris Marker, Pavel Pavlov, Walid Raad et Akram Zaatari, Ed Ruscha,
Kevin Schmidt, David Tomas, Jeff Wall.
Texts by Clint Burnham; Thomas Levin; Viva Paci; Blake Stimson; Charles Stankievech
Publisher Dazibao Gallery, (Montreal) ISBN: 9782922135329; 2922135322
2007
Alstad, Michael “Subversive Cartography: challenging the accuracy of the official map” Catalogue
essay for Virtual Net Art , Gallery TPW Gallery exhibition. http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Photos/html/en/sm-essay.html
Kasprzak, Michelle. “Dubious Views online exhibition” Spacing Toronto: Understanding the Urban
Landscape Magazine, June 8, 2007
“Dubious Views: Questioning Institutional representations in tourism and cartography” in Turbulence.org, June 18, 2007.
2004
Wolf, Ophra. “Which way home?” Every Bus Stop in Surrey, BC - Net Art news, Rhizome.org
(NewYork) October 25, 2004.
Komori, Miyuki. “On the map: Artist Interview with Sylvia Grace Borda” Oops Magazine, October edition 2004 Tokyo, Japan.
Zacharias, Yvonne. “Fall Arts Preview” The Vancouver Sun, Arts and Life, September 21, 2004, C3.
McLaren, Sylver “Artist puts Surrey on the map” North Shore News, September 13, 2004
Laurence, Robin. “Photos, Film Capture Surrey's Non-Identity” Georgia Straight paper Sept 2, 2004
Every Bus Stop in Surrey BC: Preview. Canadian Art July 2004.
Defoy, Michel. “JetSet: Transitory artist” ENROUTE magazine, Air Canada. July 2004 p.19.(English & French language review)
Laurence, Robin. ”Lots to Challenge Eyes and Minds, Spring Arts Preview Critic’s picks” Georgia Straight paper Vol 38, Number 1889 March 4-11, 2004 p37
