English Version | Portfolio: Along the trails of Google Maps

12 Jun 2023
By Maria Inês Pinto

Jacqui Kenny is the author of the following images. These are not paintings or photographs taken on the spot, but images captured on Google Street View. This unusual approach to photography has a fairly simple explanation: Jacqui suffers from agoraphobia, a type of anxiety disorder that is defined, in short, by a fear of being in public places, and so she had to find alternative ways of traveling.

Jacqui Kenny is the author of the following images. These are not paintings or photographs taken on the spot, but images captured on Google Street View. This unusual approach to photography has a fairly simple explanation: Jacqui suffers from agoraphobia, a type of anxiety disorder that is defined, in short, by a fear of being in public places, and so she had to find alternative ways of traveling.

It is in adversity that we also find the greatest opportunities, and clichés aside, this phrase couldn't make more sense to Jacqui Kenny. Agoraphobia has drastically limited the New Zealand artist's life, but it has also triggered a unique creative process: "I am constantly thinking of new ways to travel other than physically [...]. When my agoraphobia was at its worst and my world seemed so small, I had trouble going to places away from home. Going to the supermarket or visiting friends was an almost impossible task, and every time I went out it felt like I was climbing Mount Everest." Jacqui knew she needed to find a new way and it was in her imagination (and the Internet) that she discovered the answer to this challenge.

How did you come up with the idea of capturing pictures with Google Street View? The story of The Agoraphobic Traveller started in early 2016.  I was going through a very dark time with my anxiety and agoraphobia. I was struggling with work and life and I was at an incredibly low point. I knew that I needed to do something to help myself out of it, so this is when I decided to embark on a creative project and find a new way to travel.  I stumbled across Google Street View by chance and began my new adventure by virtually parachuting into different parts of the world. The fact you can jump from one side of the world to another in seconds and travel through a parallel world that is essentially billions of images stitched together, was just extraordinary to me. I went to places I didn’t even know existed and was in constant awe of what I was discovering. I found that when I was in this world, my head was much calmer and my negative thoughts disappeared, so I stayed in it as long as I could. [...] I realized that I was discovering my own unique way of seeing the world, which is something I had never had before. I’ve carried my aesthetic over to all my new work. [...]  I was always finding common threads in every country and it made me realize just how similar we all are. Even though I was doing all my traveling from home, strangely it made me feel really connected to the world. 

What is your creative process like? When I first started, I was in awe of pretty much everything I saw. From a camel crossing the street to kids playing football in the desert, I found everything new and amazing. I also loved the perspective from the camera and the fact that it is 360 degrees, which gives it a slightly warped feel. [...] I was looking for images that had more of a cinematic feel [...]  so that drew me to smaller, more isolated towns and places.  Light is very important to me, so I started to look at locations with extreme temperatures. I was also attracted to vibrant colours and interesting architecture. Once I found a place with all these elements, I would spend a lot of time looking for the perfect capture. Sometimes I would spend weeks in one small town, just hoping I will discover something interesting. The main challenge for me was looking for something extraordinary in everydayness. [...] There are similar challenges [with traditional photography] of course because you still have to think about the light, the composition, the surroundings and you have to find that special ‘moment’ that every photographer looks for. Just the slightest change in someone’s pose can make the difference between a good or average capture. It’s a practice that involves a tension between control and surrender because on the one hand it’s great, I can go anywhere I want in the world but so many of the elements are in Google’s hands.  

How would you say your work shapes or challenges the traditional concept of photography and the way we document the world? I was very lucky to fall in love with photography but was limited by my anxiety to ever realize my dreams of becoming a photographer. I did really enjoy curation, so I spent my early career visually assisting film directors to help realise their dreams. The mechanization of photography, initially through automation manifesting in the likes of Google Street View, and more recently through generative AI has meant that my passion for curation has turned into a way for me to create my own work and I can continue to travel virtually. Technology is going to liberate many people like me who were constrained by the way things were. I am not a photographer, but an image maker, a curator creator. Brian Eno put it in a good way when he said “composers are becoming more like gardeners than architects.”

Would you say that this project helped you deal with agoraphobia? It has definitely improved and I do think this project has been very instrumental in my ability to manage my anxieties. There are a few reasons for this.  Firstly, it has given me a really great creative outlet which has helped me work through and process my mental health. It has also given me a sense of purpose because I’m able to use my platform to talk about my agoraphobia and, in turn, many people have reached out to me to discuss their own struggles. This has been one of the really great upsides of the project. I found a real shift in how I felt when I started talking openly about it.  Before I started my project only a few close friends knew that I struggled with my mental health. There was so much stigma and I felt so ashamed to talk about it, which was ultimately the reason why my world became so small and it was shrinking all the time. So, opening up about it was a great release and it almost felt like the panic and the anxiety didn’t have the same hold over me. In saying all that, even though my agoraphobia is getting better, I still struggle with severe anxiety and I don’t think that will ever disappear. I’m just getting much better at managing it.

Is it in your future plans to go to some of the places you have photographed, even though is it challenging to deal with agoraphobia? I’m not sure if I will physically go to any of the locations I captured but I am really fascinated in finding new ways of traveling without physical travel, especially using new technologies. In 2020 over lockdown I began to use my extensive curated Street View image archives as data sets to inspire AI to generate brand new worlds. I am now spending a lot of time on generative AI platforms doing what I did with Street View and exploring new ways to discover worlds. I have also started working on an idea of an AI film. 

Jacqui is now part of the Acceptable Realities project, which explores how AI can be used to expand the world of photography, challenging the limits of the conventional.

Translated from the original on The Voyage Issue, published June 2023.Full stories and credits on the print issue.

Maria Inês Pinto By Maria Inês Pinto

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