Congratulations.
You have chosen your 3 topics.
At this stage, we are not trying to decide which one is "the best." Instead, we are looking for the territory they share. Because very often, a solo is not about one topic. It is about the space between several interests, questions, memories, desires, or contradictions. Today we begin to map that space. The tool: map making.
    A map is different from a text.
    A text is linear.
    A map is relational.
    It allows you to see connections, patterns, repetitions, tensions, and unexpected bridges.
    For artists, maps are often more useful than explanations. A map does not tell a story. It reveals a landscape.

    Exercise 1: Expand
    ​The first movement is opening.
    Take a large sheet of paper.
    Place your 3 topics on the page.
    Leave a lot of empty space around them.
    Now begin expanding.
    Around each topic, add:
    • words
    • memories
    • sensations
    • people
    • objects
    • references
    • questions
    Do not organize.
    Do not censor.
    Do not edit.
    At this stage, quantity is welcome.
    The goal is to discover what each topic contains.

    Exercise 2: Focus
    Once the map feels rich and full, begin a second movement.
    Look for bridges.
    Draw lines between your topics.
    Ask:
    • Where do these topics touch?
    • What appears in all three?
    • What emotions are shared?
    • What desires repeat?
    • What contradictions return?
    • What questions return?
    Circle recurring elements.
    Begin to identify the common territory.
    At this stage, do not search for logic. Search for connections.
    Because your three topics may not actually be three topics. They may be three doors leading to the same room.

    ​Example
    Imagine someone chooses:
    • Freedom
    • Dancing
    • The Sea
    At first they seem unrelated.
    But after mapping, they discover:
    • movement
    • expansion
    • fluidity
    • pleasure
    • losing control
    • the horizon
    The topic that appears at the intersection may not be any of the three, but something underneath them. For example:
    Expansion.
    Or:
    The desire to become larger than oneself.
    The map helps reveal this.

    Exercise 3: The center
    When your map feels complete, step back.
    Look at it from a distance.
    Then ask yourself:
    If these three topics were actually one topic, what would it be?
    Not a sentence.
    Not an explanation.
    One word.
    Or one short title.
    Or one short question.
    ​
    This is often where the solo begins.
    Please send:
    1. A photo of your map.
    2. The one word or short title that emerged at the intersection of your three topics.
    You have one week.

    Deadline to submit your answers: 7 days from now