WOVEN WORLDS
"Woven Worlds" is a self-funded passion photographic-illustrated project, the outcome of which will be a book that weaves these fragments into a whole. It focuses on a traveler exploring the "otherworldly places" and their inhabitants, closely intertwined with our planet Earth. It captures corners of our world with authentic photographs, without demanding digital manipulation, just as they were found, and complements them with illustrated creatures that have integrated into the fabric of our world, alongside the peculiar landscape.
WHAT ARE WOVEN WORLDS?
We all know that feeling when you find yourself in an unprecedented place, and the first thing that crosses your mind is:
"This place feels like a different world."
Whether it's the faraway land of Iceland, thousands of miles away, that just doesn't seem to fit in here, the endless surreal deserts, volcanic landscapes reminiscent of the dinosaur era, the frozen plains of Antarctica or Greenland, or just the borderlands and even woods near the place where you live. While exploring these places, I always get goosebumps and a sensation that I've stepped into one of the thousand stories I grew up with. And that's exactly what Woven Worlds are.
These are places that have integrated into our world in the same time and space, melding with it and creating an entirely new scenery, ranging from a few square meters to miles of distance. They are intertwined so closely and with such incredible sensitivity that they truly evoke a feeling in you, as if you've just stepped over a magical threshold and accidentally found yourself on a different planet.
For these landscapes, we may or may not have to travel thousands of kilometres. We can find them in the mountains, in forests, on frozen plains, in deserts, on the rim of volcanic craters, and just as well, they occasionally intertwine peacefully on a morning in a meadow behind the house where you you've lived for decades.
The goal of these expeditions is not only to search for and explore these "unfitting landscapes" but also, with a bit of luck, to get to know their inhabitants. A wide spectrum of diverse species, living here due to the interweaving of worlds, often in complete harmony with the inhabitants of our own world. That means right next to the local people and other creatures of our planet, as we know them. They are often fully aware of each other's existence, taking advantage of this mutual symbiosis.
There are plenty of Woven Worlds here. You just need to search for them on the map, embark on an expedition, and capture the species we once heard about in fairy tales. If, like me, your childhood imagination broke free from its chains and you're struggling to catch it again, these places will seem amusingly familiar.
I would like to guide you through them with captured photographs and illustrations. It would be an honor for me if you joined me on my expeditions to discover a few new worlds that are intimately connected to our own.
HOW DOES THE WOVEN WORLD LOOK?
The excerpt from the map topographically captures a landscape intertwined with the Woven world. Specifically, within this, there are creatures called Gangandi.
You see a color-distinct origin point here, namely the center of the crater (1), in which Gangandi awakened when its definitive extinction occurred. Subsequently, the structure connects with the topographic horizon, thus depicting the area of the highest probability of occurrence (2).
Woven worlds integrate themselves into our world's structure very sensitively, so as not to disrupt the original structures. Essentially, they embrace them, and not only do they create a natural reserve that human activity doesn't stand a chance of breaking into, but they also protect creatures from both worlds. For this reason, it is much more likely to observe endemic species in such places. Furthermore, they are also peculiar in the sense that you wouldn't notice them at first glance, no matter how visually attractive they are. They could lie right next to a tourist-frequented spot, almost touching its boundaries, and yet people only accidentally stumble upon them or pass by without noticing. This is the greatest paradox since these places are often much more beautiful than the eagerly sought-out areas, and they remain devoid of people, not counting the local inhabitants. However, they are well aware of the existence of the Woven world. So, if you're not actively searching for the Woven world, you won't even notice it. There are many subtle nuances that will give you a hint that such a place is within reach or that you're passing through it, but that's a story for another time.
On this specific map, I've marked, among other things, the precise area (3) where I saw a volcanic vagabond less than two years ago, and this year, a herd of as many as six individuals roamed in the very same spot.
GANGANDI
Volcanic wanderers born from an extinct crater. Occasionally, they can be found in records, also referred to by less academic terms: Volcanic spirit, Walking volcano.
Gangandis are naturally adept walkers, so encountering them is possible even tens of kilometers away from their focus of origin and beyond the borders of the Woven World.
They do, however, possess the characteristic of returning to their birthplace several times a year. The opportunity to witness these creatures in all their splendor is thus greatly amplified in the Woven World. Simultaneously, their manifestation gains entirely new dimensions here. When a Gangandi (or an entire convoy) departs from the intersected realms' designated region into our own, it becomes a spirit in the truest sense of the word. If it ventures very far, it might no longer be visible to the human eye, regardless of the size and colossal enormity of these giants. Its presence can be captured seismographically, often mistaken for a minor earthquake and left largely unnoticed. Especially in the case of this creature, which exclusively inhabits volcanic areas. At first glance, it's merely perceived as a slight movement of lithospheric plates, generating a negligible tremor.
In the meantime, a herd of Gangandis could have swept past you without you being aware of their presence."
The Woven Worlds project so far captures diverse landscapes of Atlantic Ocean islands (Madeira, Tenerife), the High Tatras, and at the beginning of 2024, an expedition to Iceland is planned. There, weather permitting, a couple of Woven Worlds are located, according to previous research, for example within glacial caves.
But Greenland, Georgia, Scandinavia, Southwestern United States, Kyrgyzstan, Patagonia, and basically every other corner of our world harboring Woven Worlds are also in the plan. The first book aims to primarily connect those volcanic and frozen areas, hence the entire project doesn't have a strictly set deadline. As long as there is something and someone to discover, it can continue to expand. To support Wowen Worlds, you can become a COLLECTOR of this revealing world and purchase one of the limited Fine art prints of illustrations of already discovered creatures and landscapes. With each print sale, I am able to finance future expeditions and thus accelerate the creation of the book itself.
Thank you so much for your support, as it is thanks to it that all of this is coming to life! I appreciate it, and we'll see each other on the next adventure!
