07/04/2008 09:48:00

The creation of a unique map of Dundee relies on the assistance of "artistic" volunteers, the BBC reports.

The new map, which is also an interactive piece of art, utilizes modern technology combined with the traditional art of sewing. The unique depiction of the city is in creation and on display as part of an exhibition at the Hannah Maclure Centre in Dundee.

The project involves recruiting willing participants from spectators at the exhibition in central Scotland. The volunteers are given a hand held Global Positioning System device to take with them as they stroll around Dundee and their journey is sent to a computer at the University of Abertay, where it is projected as a continuous line onto a large canvas. Volunteers then stitch different coloured threads along each route - creating a permanent record of their walks.

The project, entitled "Running Stitch", is a collaboration between artists Jen Southern, Jen Hamilton and Chris St Amand. The creators are keen to get more people involved, although dozens of journeys through the city have already been added to the canvas.

Cultural Projects Officer at the university, Donna Holford-Lovell, told the BBC: "We've been inviting people to either become a stitcher or an urban rambler or both.

"People are asked to think about a personal journey to them or go around Dundee and discover something they've never seen before.

"Then over the weeks of the exhibition it then builds up a map of Dundee that is quite personal to the people who have stitched and walked the journey."

The artwork is featured in the Signals in the City exhibition and will be on display until May 2.