How to see the world without leaving your sofa – an interview with the Agoraphobic traveller
As spring turned to summer this year, we faced the warmer weather at first entirely, and later partially, confined to our homes. Holidays were cancelled, flights refunded and plans put on hold: grounded by coronavirus, our only choice for travel was through the imagination.
Someone who is no stranger to travelling the world from the comfort of her home is Jacqui Kenny, also known as the Agoraphobic Traveller. Having suffered from anxiety for over twenty-years, Kenny’s mental health reached a new low in 2016. Scared to leave her house for fear of having a panic attack she found herself exploring far away destinations through Google Maps’ street view. Enchanted by the snapshots of lives and cultures thousands of miles from her own, she began to capture the images and post the photography on her Instagram @streetview.portraits.
Her artwork explores an interesting intersection of technology and art, while encouraging open conversations around mental health and how we can use the internet in positively stimulating ways. Alice Crossley spoke to Jacqui Kenny about turning Google Street View into art and becoming the agoraphobic traveller.
Alice Crossley: What inspired the agoraphobic traveller?
Jacqui Kenny: I had been running a digital production company for about 10 years and it closed down. It left me in a pretty dark place. I was sitting at home not really knowing what to do and my anxiety was really bad. I wanted a creative outlet or just something to do. The year before I had been playing around a little bit in Street View. I don’t remember why but I thought it was interesting because everybody looks so small; it looks like lots of little stages, I thought it was beautiful.
In 2016, when I thought I needed some focus, my sister reminded me of this and it was perfect. I wasn’t getting out much because of my agoraphobia and I thought this could be a cool way to start travelling around.
AC: Did becoming the agoraphobic traveller help your mental health?
JK: It definitely did improve it for a few reasons. It was the first time I’d been open about it, so that was quite a revelation. Before I didn’t think I could talk about it, especially when I was running a company. That’s what shrunk my world down because I stopped doing things, I stopped going out. Rather than telling people “Hey, I might have a panic attack here,” I closed my world up. Sharing this was a huge relief for me and suddenly I had people in every country in the world telling me about their experiences with anxiety disorders.
Before this project, I hadn’t been feeling great about myself. I felt like I couldn’t express myself, so my confidence was really low. Then, I found my creative voice, my style, and something that’s uniquely mine. I hadn’t felt that before. The other thing is, I have been able to travel more since I’ve done this project. It is mainly through the communities I’ve met online. I have a fear of losing control and publicly having a panic attack but they have helped me realise it is not the end of the world if I do. That takes the power away.
In terms of my overall mental health, of course, there are still ups and downs. The project wasn’t a fix for everything, but it’s a step in the right direction. The people online probably helped me more than anything.
AC: How did you choose the locations to capture?
JK: When I was looking at street view, I already had all these photos from when I worked as a creative director for a film production company referenced in my head. I would look at something and realise it reminded me of a photographer or a photographer. After a while, I started discovering my own style.
I didn’t know what I was looking for, to begin with. But over time, I realised I was trying to get this balance of otherworldly but also familiar. They are of the world but they look like they might not be. I like the dark and the light, the images are often quite isolated and have a lonely feel, but are also colourful and hopeful. All of them have that sense of being stuck in a moment in time.
AC: You’ve stopped capturing images now, why is that?
JK: It feels like I jumped into google maps for a couple of years, and then came out completely. I went into this new world. It was a strange time in my life. Once I realised I had finished and wasn’t working on it full time anymore, I didn’t want to go back in again. I got so caught up in the escapism, but at the same time, I was getting too sucked into finding the perfect image.
AC: What impact are you trying to have as an artist?
JK: Sometimes people will look at the images and see darkness and think the image is so dystopian. But then someone else will see it and think it is so peaceful. It depends on who you are. I like that duality, that tension. That is also representative of my mental health. I didn’t realise until later that they are more of a reflection of me and what I was going through at that time, than of the location I was capturing.
I like exploring creativity and technology, especially if it is a way to talk about mental health. Anything I do visually, I want to open conversations around mental health. I want to challenge stereotypes and show mental health in a completely different light. That’s important to me.
AC: Do you have a favourite location that you captured?
JK: There are a few. I love Mongolia, everything about it but especially the light. It feels so removed from my flat in London. Also places in Peru and Mexico. Oh my goodness, Mexico, the colours in Mexico.
AC: Have you travelled to any of those countries since capturing them?
JK: No because the places that I’m interested in on street view are so remote, I haven’t had a chance. I’d love to, of course. But now because of Coronavirus, it’s probably going to be a while.
AC: Your work has increasing significance this year due to lockdown. Do you feel you led the way in travelling from the comfort of your own home?
JK: About a week after everybody went into full lockdown, I woke up one morning, looked at my email and I think I had 15 to 20 requests for interviews. I thought, oh no, what is going on? My work had a resurgence which is funny. But of course, it makes sense.
I have seen a lot of Street View travel accounts on Instagram now. It is very hard to find the right images, I did it for probably two years straight, sometimes up to 18 hours a day. So when people start I think, good luck, it’s gonna take you some time.
AC: What’s next for you artistically?
JK: I have a book of photographs coming out in February or March. It also includes an essay on mental health written by an amazing, creative writer. I take this book (a mock-up) everywhere. Usually, because I’m working on it but also because this is such a big part of me.
I have also been doing a project with my partner around artificial intelligence. I’ve got about 40,000 pictures from google maps so we are putting them into AI systems to see what they create; we’re trying to build new worlds.
I want to continue exploring creativity, mental health and technology in everything I do.