A border stone in winter light, frost on the ground, in the woods. The stone is set into what looks like a very old dry stone wall, with a fleur-de-lys on one side.

A stone roughly carved in an eery light in the forest, with a rough shield carved on it. It’s now indicating the Swiss Canton de Vaud, but it was probably carved with earlier jurisdictions before, including the short-lived (Napoleonic) République Helvétique

A border stone with a confusing line on the top, and a yellow/blue single fleur-de-lys (previously Royaume de France) now 🇫🇷

An old stone, engraved and re-engraved with three dates (1761, 1865 and 1922) indicating various different demarcation exercises

Border hopping in the sun, up above the stratus clouds that have engulfed Geneva for what feels like weeks. Walking slowly along the 🇨🇭🇫🇷 border, in the Canton de Vaud / Dpt de l’Ain. We saw old souls garding imagined lines across the centuries, for successive political masters #alongtheline #bornées

Génial! J’adore quand on me dit qu’il est dans une bibliothèque! Merci! Bonne lecture! #Bornées

A stone inscribed with the location of a dolmen, an ancient megalith, that looks a bit like a border stone the author spent several years chasing

Another one, next to a different megalith

An alignment of megaliths in Brittany, near Erdeven. Like Carnac, only smaller and less touristy.

The author’s partner, looking at a huge megalith, looking rather debonair in a Panama hat and shorts

Chasing large standing rocks, with slight border stone vibes, only much, much, much older.
#Bornées #AlongTheLine

Dessin de vélo en gros plan avec peu de rayons

Dessin de vélo avec un petit garçon debout et encore moins de rayons dans la roue

J’approuve ce message! La vie est décidément trop courte pour (tous) les rayons des vélos!
#Bornées

A borderstone seen from the top, looking faintly like some sort of hieroglyph-covered stone. Clearly, this is a magical being.

A part of a STOP sign painted on the ground, interrupted by a brass plaque indicating the Swiss/French border, with 2021 (the year) on it, and two arrows indicating the direction of the border

The number 188 carved on a border stone, and a mysterious little metal plug below, no doubt laid later during some measuring / cartographic / geometric survey

The little plug on the stone seen in the previous photo, captured close-up, showing that it is engraved with the number 1238 (presumably a numbered code from a survey), and the simplified heraldry showing the letter G in a shield, for Geneva.

Territory and borders are made visually & materially on the ground, in mysterious codes and signs, like a secret language based on calculation, inscribed in complex infrastructure.

(Time out for a long walk today, before heading into a 10-hour total Zoom marathon tomorrow!).
#Bornées #AlongTheLine

The village of Bossey, just next to the Swiss/French border, is pictured both in the background and seen on an early 20th Century postcard, held in the author’s hand. Past and present visually in dialogue.

The same exercise as the previous picture, with an old sepia postcard held up against the same place today, with old houses in Landecy. The two are remarkably similar.

A border stone lies knocked over, the stone broken in two at the base. I suspect an accident with a tractor in this field along the border. Should I have a) cemented it back? b) taken it home? Reader, I did neither.

A border stone transformed by someone into an impromptu cairn with additional rocks on the top and around the base.

A rainy Sunday wander along the 🇨🇭🇫🇷 border, filling in some blanks and chasing viewpoints with old postcards. History in place. I wanted to take views of the Salève mountain for a drawing project but clouds had other plans!
#Bornées #AlongTheLine

Screenshot of a page of the short comic on the Geneva Summit. The line drawings show the cathedral of the city of Geneva in the distance, with military vehicles and fences in the foreground. In the lower part of the page, an armoured vehicle is drawn behind a fence, with a soldier wearing a mask standing on topic. Colours are muted.

The table of contents, with alternating drawn / written chapters. The chapters are on 1. Fieldwork and research design; 2. Thinking visually about territory; 3. Writing with comics

Reading the proofs of my new book "Along The Line: Writing in Comics & Graphic Narrative in Geography", coming out soon with EPFL Press. 😁 Includes the English version of my comic "Bornées" interwoven with three written chapters + an extra short comic on the Geneva Summit
#comics #bornées #geography

Un dessin en noir, blanc, vert d’une maison style 19ème couverte de lierre avec une banderole “demain sera meilleur” accrochée au balcon. D’après une photo prise à La Croix-de-Rozon printemps 2020

Dessin du jour / Today’s sketch:
“Tomorrow will be better”

(Tiré de mon essai graphique
#Bornées)

A border stone stands in a field next to a vineyard in the winter sun. The letter S, here for Switzerland, is carved on one side.

A border stone in thick brambles (not visible), with a person in the background taking a photo of it

A thick hedge marking the border, in the winter sun, in green fields of grazed grass, with the Salève mountain in the background covered in fresh snow.

A screenshot of the location of the previous border stone showing the turn in the border. The map is produced by the Swisstopo (Swiss geographical & topographic institute) so French territory is white, like a sort of Terra Incognita, beyond the known world.

Mundane borders, anyone? Should Bluesky be the new place for the thread of our improbable border walks, after journaling Tw***** & Mastodon?
Anyway, was a sunny Sunday so we went wandering & found border stone no.49, missing from our collection. Fiendishly cold but gorgeous. #Bornées #Borderwalk 🇨🇭🇫🇷

The fact that this Vallée des Dappes changed sides, in 1862 from 🇨🇭to 🇫🇷, following a complicated exchange outlined in the Traité dès Dappes adds another twist to the complicated border story. But that can be for another time!
(End)

#Bornées #geography #borders

The book “Bornées” is propped up on a shelf. Next to it two A3 digital color prints of drawings from the book. A homemade table runner runs along it, in front, showing cheerful Christmas pixies.

In the talks I have given on my book in past weeks, my point about slow writing & #slowscience, on taking time to use drawing to analyse data slowly & reflectively, over months, seems to resonate the most: a small but meaningful resistance to pressures to rush scholarship.
#Bornées #comics #drawing

A lovely evening last night meeting readers and signing books in Geneva at the Papiers Gras bookshop. Comic books really are fabulous for stimulating other people’s stories, jump-starting meaningful conversations and exchanges of anecdotes and experiences! Such a privilege.
#Bornées #newbook

Vue depuis la librairie, sur le Rhône, avec le livre en avant-plan

L’extérieur du bâtiment historique

Présentation et dédicace de “Bornées” à la mythique Galerie Papiers Gras à Genève, mercredi 11 décembre dès 18h00. Une chouette occasion de discuter et d’échanger autour des frontières, des BD et de l’exploration du proche.
#Bornées #Genève

Two books wrapped in decorative black & white paper made from illustrations from the book

A good idea for decorative wrapping for people gifting my book or just a silly spoiler for the contents? 🧐
(Incidentally I just love the oddness of the eagle heraldry on the 🇨🇭 side of the border stone. Yes, it really does look like a scrawny chicken with a pillow on its head!)
#Bornées #comics