INSTITUTE FOR DOCTORAL STUDIES
IN THE VISUAL ARTS
by Althea Wiggs, Cohort ’23
In a world of shifting borders and unstable geographies, poetic cartography offers an alternative to traditional mapping that resists rigid structures and embraces the fluidity of experience, perception, and relational fractures. This perspective was vividly explored after the Institute for Doctoral Studies in Visual Arts’ 2025 winter residency in Mexico City. At a subsequent seminar at Universidad Iberoamericana, Professors Simonetta Moro (President of IDSVA) and Luis Armando (Professor of Philosophy) examined the intersections of cartography, migration, and memory, proposing a post-metaphysical approach to space—one that acknowledges both rupture and continuity. The seminar began with an exploration of the nomadic as a central figure in poetic cartography. Moro proposed that the map is not merely a tool of measurement but a creative, evolving act that escapes the confines of absolute truth to imagine new possibilities and narratives. Here, art and philosophy converge: art serves as a means to reimagine the world, while philosophy provides the framework to understand these transformations. In this context, the map is neither static nor fixed but emerges as a site of relational meaning, layering histories, textures, and contradictions into a palimpsest. It emerges as a poetic act of revealing, crossing transnational borders–both physical and epistemological.
Moro conveys that the nomadic figure challenges traditional cartographic authority by navigating landscapes of displacement and temporary rest through intuition and observation–– bringing invisible maps into motion. This challenges conventional ideas of space, aligning with philosopher Elizabeth Grosz’s notion of traversing “the ground that sustains you.” Poetic cartography, then, does not simply chart existing territories; it reimagines them, bending the trajectory “just to the breaking point” without erasing its tensions. The dialogue drew on other thinkers like Rosi Braidotti and Deleuze and Guattari, whose notion of deterritorialization frames the dissolution of boundaries not as disorientation, but as the emergence of a new plane—a 'new earth.' As referenced, Michel Serres observes, “Space itself is changing and demands different maps.” In the current context, the poetic map is no longer a mere representation of territory but an active participant in its unfolding—a dynamic field where form, memory, and movement converge. Moro calls for new cartographies capable of transcending history while still engaging memory, resonating with the challenges of contemporary existence through poiesis as a shared cosmos.
Moro and Armando’s dialogue invites a reconsideration of belonging, traversal, and the inscription of meaning onto the world. Mapping, as Moro suggests, is no longer a static act of delineation but a dynamic poetic process—an ever-shifting negotiation with the landscapes we inhabit and the stories we tell polyphonically. This interaction between art and philosophy forces us to rethink not only the physical act of mapping but also the metaphysical and ontological constructs that shape our understanding of spatial plurality. The works of artists Aga Ousseinov, Ernst Haeckel, and Bouchra Kahlili are integral to her theoretical framework, actively disrupting the narratives of representation. Their art resonates with the conceptual underpinnings of these new cartographies, where aesthetics is deeply intertwined with the inquiry into time-space relationships and belonging. As Moro’s presentation demonstrates, the seamless integration of art and philosophy intervenes in and reshapes broader landscapes of experience, challenging rigid interpretations of temporality and history. Moro and Armando’s insights leave a lasting impression, offering a compelling vision of how these disciplines can reimagine the world in both creative and intellectual terms, particularly within the ethical and historical stakes in contemporary art.