Maps in 3D

The inspiration and idea

I really enjoy looking at old maps, like the world map below. These maps are so rich with history and I immediately cast my mind back to when the map was created and imagine what the world was like and how peoples lives felt. Also, these maps are always so beautiful, which I think is because of how they’re made. Apparently, the map below and most “old” maps you can find today, were made with a printing press. This means that each map was printed from essentially a large stamp called a printing plate. Printing plates were not easy to make and required great craftmanship and I suspect experienced map makers took great pride in their work. I think this pride bleeds through the paper of many old maps, which seem to have a certain beauty compared to modern maps (e.g. Google Maps).

There were a bunch of ways to make printing plates but whatever the method used, you end up with some sort of 3 dimensional stamp like below, except more complicated. Timber is my medium of choice, and I wondered about skipping the printing press part of making a map and instead stopped at something akin to the stamp stage.

The result

With inspiration and idea in hand, I spent some time to develop a process that can take 2D topographic maps and carve them into wood. Then, I used this process to make a map of Australia and I think it turned out amazing. You can run your fingers across the map and actually feel the mountains and ranges! After seeing a scaled version of Australia, I instantly understood the scale and shape of my country in a way that I had not grasped from any of the maps I’ve seen in my life. This observation certainly made me appreciate how powerful our brains are at understanding three dimensional objects compared to two dimensional representations, i.e. maps.

I also created a cork stamp to add some text on the map to try and mimic the old fonts I’ve seen.

Interested?

If you like this map and would like one for yourself, I’m happy to create one for you! You can purchase a various sizes at my etsy store, you may also be interested in something else I sell at my store. If you decide to purchase something from me or share any of my work, thank you. It’s really encouraging and helps me to continue creating. Finally, if you’ve seen something on my site that I don’t sell at my store, I’m happy to make it for you. Just get in contact with me, and I can organise a custom etsy item you can purchase.