Art is literally everywhere, and Wplace lets you create your own on the global map
Pic/Instagram @nebula_atolli; (right) Pic/Instagram @marshaal.universe
Art is everywhere. In contemporary culture, there has also been a rise of various games that are related to art. Online platforms have been bringing people from different countries together through the involvement of art. Think of how fun it would be to look at art on the world map — it sounds impossible, but it actually exists!
Wplace (wplace.live) is a site that lets you change the pixels on the world map and edit them, thus resulting in colourful patterns, illustrations, as well as bigger sketches and drawings. Developed by the Brazilian developer Murilo Matsubara, it is a collaborative site that lets the entire internet work on it at the same time. The idea was conceived through an experiment called “r/place” which was started on Reddit and allowed users to select from a varying number of colours and allowed them to edit pixels on the canvas. Ultimately, the end product was drawings of anime characters, national flags as well as some famous paintings.
The website was launched on July 21 this year and immediately hosted about a million users,. The website allows users to edit the pixels on the world map, providing them a limited beginner pool of 62 pixels, after which they regain one spent pixel every 30 seconds. To make things even more interesting, there is a leaderboard for the maximum number of pixels hosted by a country or a region, which keeps the users engaged to keep creating art and foster a healthy competition, sometimes going as far as to create their art over others’ just to rank first! People have also created fan-art near the offices of their favourite video games or anime studios to communicate their love for the franchise with the creators. These pixels have also given users the platform to protest through their creation. People began to draw the transgender pride flag on JK Rowling’s residence, protesting against the anti-trans remarks that she made, while the Gaza strip is full of Palestinian flags and anti-war slogans. Wplace has become a platform that fosters art and community through a formula that is very beginner-friendly and easy to use. It stands as a beautiful example of the ways art exists around us and how one can leverage it to talk about things that are crucial to them. Next time you’re bored, hop on Wplace and create something for yourself!
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