In intricate hand-cut paper maps layered through glass, Joanathan Bessaci examines the themes of transience, migration, and belonging.

Born and raised in Lyon, France, the country’s geography and roadways became a symbolic fascination for Bessaci. The child of Vietnamese and Northern Algerian immigrants, family histories were intrinsically tied to space and place as he traced their journeys to what would be his new home country - America.

Bessaci began collecting French Michelin road maps in his youth, drawn to their vibrant colors as well as their potential for storytelling. Further compelled by a move from France to Washington DC, Bessaci began incorporating his amassed collection of maps dating between 1920 and 1960 into his artwork.

Bessaci’s intricate artwork is predicated on a careful study of human and animal anatomy. Using the varied textures and shades naturally found in the vintage maps, he meticulously cuts away at the geography, using lakes, rivers, oceans, roads, highways, parks and city centers into his images to represent various anatomical and biological features. These cut elements are then layered between panes of glass, with his most complex images holding as many as seven layers.

Careful attention to detail, meticulous surgical artistic skill and the passionate eye of a collector define Bessaci’s mixed-media work.