The Maps of Mythical Narratives are a segment of the collaborative project “Elegy to the Void” between me (Maja Petrevska) , Angela Krstevska and Sara Atanasovska made as a part of the integrative Master studio IX in architectural - urbanism “Growth 2.0 : Settlement” on the Faculty of Architecture in Skopje, North Macedonia I decided to use the method of mapping in order to catch a glimpse of the world of floating dreams that’s hidden behind the real, tangible world. Both maps represent a segment of our project where the technical reality of the project (the different zones of spatial uses in our new settlement) is translated into a world of soft-spoken narratives of everyday life, intertwining the notion of Home with the notion of extending the Home beyond its walls and into the landscape. This is a method of researching the fragility and softness of architecture and one of the tools is using poetry, both mine and of already established authors like Elizabeth Brett Jenkins, Eileen Myles and Derek Mahon. On both of the maps I’m enclosing a territory with an embroidery of fragile landscapes that are a translation of the different types of landscapes in our project, thus creating a contemporary mythical labyrinth hidden in plain sight. The maps are a reflection of my own need to understand architecture better by seeing beyond the real and into the world where the interconnectedness of architecture and nature is evident, where the myths, dreams and invisible transformations are intertwined with the architecture that I’m creating. Through this mapping process I strive to show how, in order to understand your own work, you have to fully immerse yourself in the world of imaginary narratives in order to understand the reality better. I translated the technical maps of fragments of our new type of settlement, adding surreal elements and thus deepening the meaning of architecture by heightening the emotional receptivity of space. In a way, my (un)conscious Self strives to revolt against the monotony of direct perception, to revolt against the anaesthetization of human intimacy, to revolt against the sensorial deprivation of the spatial experience. These maps are in a way a manifesto that encourages a multi-sensory experience of architecture. The multisensory experience, whether that be a spatial one or poetic one, must be felt rather than verbalized or analyzed. And to feel the experience means to put an effort in feeling everything with a special kind of attention attached to all sensations perceived by each of the senses. It requires an openness, an empathy, a special kind of vulnerability that will further lead to a heightened emotional receptivity of the surroundings. And in the moment of experiencing a certain space with a heightened sensitivity there is a gap between the past and the present where the imaginations, memories, (day)dreams and fears intertwine and one becomes aware of the lightness of being fully present, without fear and pain, without emotional detachment. And the method of mapping narratives of performative and social landscapes of the predicted everyday life of the project therefore creating a mythical world within a world gives me space to explore architecture in its full imaginative potential while trying to intimately connect different things that you may not imagine being related. Through these maps I revolt against the harshness and monotony of direct perception since it implies an emotional detachment that I’m not willing to do. I also revolt against the sensorial deprivation of the spatial experience by trying to find a way to make sense of my own experiences. The anaesthetization of human intimacy in modern day architecture makes me feel alienated and painfully disconnected even though everything begins and ends in a certain enclosure. So I decide to retreat into the field of radical tenderness and to revolt by loving more. To revolt by making architecture as gentle, fragile and personal as it can be. I am reclaiming architecture by softening its edges to the point of dissolving, to the point of now knowing where one ends and where the space begins. I am proud to say that this map was also recognized by KoozArch as one of the three winners out of 400+ submissions of the Open Call For Drawings: February Edition https://www.koozarch.com/archipelago/a-map-of-mythical-narratives

Map of Mythical Narratives 1.0

A map serving as a microcosm of narratives, an archive of feelings, a collection of impressions and new ways of seeing beyond the Real, an exploration of the relationship between the Self and the space that I would wish to inhabit, an ode to softness, an homage to tenderness, a reflection of my inner landscapes while exploring the theme of "the Void" as a tool for generating different space - time relations and collective dreams, different myths and perceptions, a reflection of my revolt - I revolt by loving more, caring more, by using attentive feeling as a tool for understanding the (non) existent spaces and places, I revolt by perceiving architecture as if I'm living without skin - making everything light and delicate, allowing it to consume me, change me, shift me from the point of gentle passivity. This map is nothing more than an echo of the invisible world that you can only have a glimpse of when you close your eyes.

Map of Mythical Narratives 2.0