Mappa Mundi

A series of illustrations based on different map projections. Showcasing how map projections could vary the way we see the world, geographically and politically.

We use maps to navigate the world, to present the world, to visualise the world, to explain the world. But maps are never as rational and accurate as they seem to be. The word map comes from the medieval Latin Mappa mundi, wherein mappa meant napkin or cloth and mundi meant the world. Thus, map became the shortened term referring to a two-dimensional representation of the surface of the world. But the tricky spherical shape of the Earth has became the absolute obstacle to stop us from obtaining an non-distorted map.

Also, certain map projection created an arbitrary focus of countries and areas that lead to distortion and inflation of shapes and sizes. For instance, the famous Mercator projection sets the focal point on Europe and Northern America, which has been supposed to cause people to consider other countries as less important.