Ellen Driscoll, CartOURgraphy, 2016, glass mosaic, Middle College Campus, Queens

CartOURgraphy is comprised of two mosaic murals located in the lobby of the Middle College Campus.  The artist chose the theme of cartography in response to the diverse population of the two schools housed within the campus -- Middle College High School and the International School.  
 
The first mural you encounter in the entryway shows the five boroughs set into a reflective silver mosaic background.  Each borough is comprised of colorful abstract tiles that are taken from a map of the world.  Similarly, the second mural, located just past the security desk, weaves together a ‘right side up’ map of the world with an ‘upside down’ one.  The five boroughs are then overlaid in same reflective silver that is used as the background in first other mural.  The end result is a quilt-like patchwork of the five boroughs overlaid or woven into colorful maps of the world.

As students and teachers from all over the world attend classes, hang out in the hallways, and weave their way through the campus, so too do their histories, cultures, and languages intertwine and come together to form their community.