Map of Tokyo, 2014. Images via
The colorful remixed cityscapes in Flowing City Map, an image set from Istvan, a.k.a Chaotic Atmosphere, are more than just remixed renditions of the world's urban centers: the Swiss illustrator, who created a series of imaginary insects and vivid visions of microscopic organisms, designed these dreamy, fluid maps for the It’s LIQUID International Art Show in order to tell the story of man-versus-nature.
"I wanted to represent the influence of cities on their environment as a kind of invisible fluid that overflows from the city to its surrounding," Istvan explains in a project description. He achieves this effect by rendering actual city maps in a program called World Machine, then fusing them with procedurally-generated terrain. Once he has created the ideal amount of "erosion flow," he uses Photoshop to give each fluid map its own unique visual identity; Cairo is yellow, Rio de Janeiro is a fiery orange, Tokyo is bluish purple, and New York City is aquamarine. The final product looks like a series of post-apocalyptic wastelands, torn apart by flooded rivers until only a few of the most robust neighborhoods remain—all rendered in high-chroma color.
View some images from Flowing City Map below, and click here to see the full series.
Map of Cairo, 2014
Map of Paris, 2014
Map of Rio de Janeiro, 2014
Map of Beijing, 2014
Map of New York, 2014
Map of Venice, 2014
The It's LIQUID International Art Show is an international exhibition of photography, painting, video art, installation/sculpture and performance art curated by Luca Curci, and was hosted by the International Art Expo and the city of Venice from Dec. 15, 2014 to Jan. 12, 2015.
H/t Faith is Torment
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