/ "TRACE".
Tote Bag Mapping Series
These tote bags carry more than just lines — a unique city mapping—a visual interpretation of urban rhythms. As a landscape architect, I map not just space but the feeling of a city: what I noticed, what I remembered, what stayed with me.
/ REYKJAVIK.
A cluster of life was tucked by the bay,
Several lonely roads slip away from it.
Beyond the last roadlamp,
only lava, wind, and the endless winter.
/ SURABAYA.
Surabaya sits at the edge of lands,
Bridging islands, trade winds, and drifting prayers.
To the south,
A chain of volcanoes stretching all the way east,
Until the gods run out of breath in Bali.
/ ISTANBUL.
Bosphorus splits a city into two worlds.
In European,
Domes and minarets whisper Byzantium and the Ottomans.
In Asian,
Boulevards and rooftops hum with Ataşehir and future skylines.
Istanbul connects them all,
by bridge, by boat, by centuries of change.
/ SINGAPORE.
Tourism is packed tight along Marina Bay.
Nature is preserved in the central catchment.
The rest —
a bit messier, warmer and far more human.
You’ll find your way there if you’re willing to look.
/ DRESDEN.
Elbe drew the first line.
Domes, spires, and Baroque stone to the south,
Cafés, graffiti, and jazz bars to the north.
Urban softens following the river,
Melts into meadows, forests, and sandstone cliffs.
/ NANJING.
Everything begins at the bend of the Yangtze.
Old gates guard the south, palace ruins rest in the west,
New streets unfurl to the east, ridges crown the quiet north.
Between river, wall, and hill —
It folds time into a soft maze of history.
/ SEOUL.
Where the mountains hold, and the river parts.
Old palaces gather north of the spine,
Glass towers rise by the waterline.
Yeouido anchors the modern,
Myeong-dong hums with life.
/ NAIROBI.
A city held by mountains and plains —
Ngong, Suswa, Longonot, Aberdare, encircle the city in green.
Within, dust meets glass.
Step beyond, wild begins,
Hills, cracked lava fields, and forets that remember rain.
/ ROME.
One ring for the emperors and ruins.
One for the popes and pilgrims.
And one for modern Romans, scooters, and supermarket wine.
Everything spirals out from the river.
And You can walk from ancient to everyday in half an hour.
/ LUANG PRABANG.
Two rivers hold two paths like folded hands.
Held by mountains, open to the wild.
By dawn,
monks pass barefoot with morning bells and rustling robes.
By night,
backpacks drift through lantern smoke and sizzling stalls.
/ PRAGUE.
Everything begins at the bend of the Vltava.
Castles rise to the west, clocks tick to the east,
linked by the oldest bridge in the land.
Beyond it,
Green hills wrap the city like a second wall.