The Inverted World

Imagine all the land on Earth would be water and all the water would be land. Imagine the continents to be oceans and the oceans to be continents. Imagine all islands to be lakes and all the lakes to be islands. A complete inversion of topography. What would our world look like?

This inverted world map gives the answer: a planet with more than twice as much land surface as ours, grouped around a couple of huge water basins.

A large portion of all those lands will be sparsely populated or completely uninhabited. The continent Pacifica, surrounded by high mountain ranges, is one big desert. And the southern hemisphere below the 45th parallel is one globe-spanning Siberia.

But there are also lush green areas where life is good, such as the Mediterranean peninsula, the Big Islands in the Canadian ocean, and the region of the Indonesian lakes.

The color scheme of the map is inspired by the famous Blue Marble maps from NASA, which are based on the actual appearance of the Earth seen from space.

This artwork is offered by Frans Blok

My work can be located in the border regions of photography, painting and computer visuals. With my company 3Develop I do work in commission but I use the same techniques, skills and software to make free work. I am originally an architect and I live in Rotterdam; for that reason the architecture of that city is a major (but not the only) source of inspiration. But also travel to countries like Iceland and Britain, or walks in the Netherlands, provide much material. Seeing and showing quality and beauty, that is what my work is about.

Learn more about Frans Blok?

• All artworks by Frans Blok