Sensory Maps of Vancouver is a series of drawings that record the movement of city buses and reflect the experience of public transportation in the urban environment. The maps were made during one 24-hour period, during which the artist moved from one bus to another to cover as much of the city as possible. These maps were enlarged and displayed in bus shelter advertising spaces around Vancouver from January 25th until March 21st, 2010. Map legends included subjective and objective information about the rides: the bus; the driver and passengers; the number of stops; the exact times of travel; and the weather conditions.

“As the bus moves, the vibrations of the vehicle are translated through my hand onto the paper. Twenty bus routes, one train line and the Seabus are explored in the course of one day, in a marathon experience. One map drawing represents one ride. In gesture, these drawings evoke a traditional type of mapping; exploring, discovering and defining a territory through a physical journey.” In her work, Anna Ruth studies the meaning of boundary through the exploration of line. Her work is conceptual, minimalist and poetic. Line and two-dimensional texture are the base of her creation. She uses colour sparingly and an important part of the paper surface is always left untouched. Reoccurring themes deal with territory, maps and other fabricated abstractions that are used to define space. Anna Ruth is interested in ideas that make us, as a society, feel secure, stable and powerful.