The  ‘Knowledge of London’ is the in-depth study of over 300 London street routes  and thousands of places of interest. These must be completely memorized by  any aspiring driver who wants a license to operate in London’s black taxi cab  profession.

These prints from Max Colson's series 'London Knowledge' are of 3D Lidar  laser scans of London’s streets made after interviews with London taxi  drivers who recounted their experience of ‘doing the Knowledge’. Lidar is a  laser-based 3D mapping technology used by self-driving cars to see and  navigate. The scans pinpoint locations and routes from the drivers’ studies.  The 3D scans from this project use a variety of colour spectrums to  categorise the journey information recorded.

These scans journey through London streets and through the memories of  black taxi cab drivers. As a whole, this work explores changes new technology  is making to how we understand the urban environment, as well as hinting at  the kinds of human knowledge and memory that may be lost. The artist has also  produced a short film animating these scans which is voiced by the interviews  with these drivers.

Further details about the work: https://maxcolson.com/portfolio/london-knowledge-scans/