Gerardo EzequielSpatial intelligence for cities
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Artistic practice / Product · Ongoing practice

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Upside Down World

Planetary · South-upAn orthographic globe turned south-up, with the north arrow pointing down: orientation is a choice the atlas hands to the reader.

An Exercise in Unlearning North: a public map I built that turns the world south-up and changes its projection. It shows the distortion with Tissot’s indicatrix and exports a riso-style poster at A4, A3 or A2, or a social post.

What existsA public atlas and map-making tool with editable typography and poster export.

Open the map (opens in a new tab)Read the essay (opens in a new tab)
My role
Artist and developer
Period
2023–present
Status
Ongoing practice
Focus
Planetary representation
Upside Down World: London flipped south-up in riso spot inks, exposing north-on-top as a choice rather than a fact.
The same London, south at the top. Orientation changes; the place does not. Basemap: Protomaps, © OpenStreetMap contributors.View full image (JPEG, 323 KB) (opens in a new tab)

The question

Familiar maps can make their design choices invisible. I wanted people to change the framing themselves and see how a different orientation, projection or visual language alters their reading of a place.

My contribution

I built the interactive mapper, projection controls and poster-making workflow. The interface connects north-up and south-up views with styling, editable text and print formats. I developed a visual language drawn from spot-colour printing, so the same cartographic idea can be explored in the browser and taken away as a poster.

How I approached it

  1. Change the viewpoint

    I made orientation and projection choices available in the map interface so readers can compare their effects.

  2. Compose the map

    I connected map styling with editable typography and a print-inspired colour system.

  3. Export an artefact

    I built poster exports for named paper and social formats, keeping source attribution in the output.

What exists

  • A public interactive atlas at upsidedown.earth.
  • Implemented projection and orientation controls with editable typography, and a Tissot’s indicatrix overlay.
  • A poster export workflow supporting A4, A3, A2 and social formats.

Where the work stands

An artistic and educational tool, not a neutral representation of the world. Changing orientation does not remove projection distortion. The Tissot overlay makes that distortion visible.

Design choices and constraints
  • Let readers change the framing themselves and compare the result.
  • Keep orientation, projection and framing as distinct controls.
  • Carry the cartographic language and attribution into poster exports.

Interactive map rendering and print export have different technical constraints. Each output needs clear attribution and a legible cartographic hierarchy.

Explore the work