Science would define Earth as the third planet from the Sun in our solar system in the Milky Way galaxy and would venture into technical terms like ‘gravity’ and ‘sedimentary’ and ‘tectonic’ while elaborating on it. But I find something rather beautiful about the planet we call home.
Many a times I find myself wondering about the enormity of this universe with its never ending galaxies and solar systems and how lucky we all are to have Earth with air to breathe, water to drink and food to eat. It is a poetic epiphany when we wrap our minds around the fact that it is the only planet which can sustain life and that we are practically suspended in a vacuum where hearts don’t beat.
Following that line of thought, I set out to dig up and compile artworks that appreciate the Earth’s beauty and will tickle your brains making you realize its majestic beauty and how we are losing it. Here’s what I found.
1. PREPARE TO BE STUNNED
NASA/Earth As Art
In November 2012, NASA released and e-book titled ‘Earth as Art’. This book celebrates the Earth’s aesthetic beauty in the patterns, shapes, colors, and textures of the land, oceans, ice, and atmosphere. The book features 75 stunning images of Earth from the Terra, Landsat 5, Landsat 7, EO-1, and Aqua satellites. Sensors on these satellites can measure light outside of the visible range, so the images show more than what is visible to the naked eye. Though most of the stuff NASA publishes is for scientific interpretation, this time however the images are intended purely for viewing enjoyment. The art in Earth truly leaves one stunned with just a glimpse.
IMAGE COURTESY: Daily Inspiration
2. TAKE A NAP AT HOME
The Land of Nod/To The Centre Of The Bedding
The Land of Nod has brought for you a journey full of thrills and adventures which is well, sleep. They have designed a quilt ‘To the Center of the Bedding’ with ‘geology’ bedding. The quilt features a multi-layered cross section of the earth’s interior, with each layer made from a different material. The result is a unique mixture of patterns, colors and textures. The idea is extremely innovative and who knew sleeping could teach you some geology!
IMAGE COURTESY: Laughing Squid
3. BEAUTY IN ALL SHE IS
Ever since humans came into existence we have been living in fear of and have worshipped nature. Be it the mountains or trees or even the streams, different cultures and tribes have had their God and for a long time Earth has been seen and worshipped as ‘Mother.’ Various artists have symbolized her so and have let their love and respect for flow for her.
Kanza/Mother Earth
Kanza in her creation ‘Mother Earth’ saw the Earth as a pregnant woman as the Earth grants us life and feeds us. She’s also the background and the trees are a part of her body.
In a way, earth can be called “Mother Nature”, with her wings that are made of leaves, with her hair that forms plants, without “real” human legs but with roots which are in the soil joining us all together.
Mother Earth
Jennifer Easely/The Daughter of Mother Earth
‘The Daughter of Mother Earth’ by Jennifer Easely shows Selva, the daughter of Mother Earth. She’s in her human form with her 2 wolf guardians and has just stumbled across some humans in the forest for the first time.
‘The Daughter of Mother Earth’
Ladyface/Mother Earth
Titled ‘Mother Earth’ again by Ladyface, shows a very unique interpretation of Earth with stunning hair a wide sea of clouds.
Mother Earth
IMAGE COURTESY: Smashing Yolo
4. CREATING AN IMPACT: GOOD OR BAD?
Benjamin Grant/Daily Overview
In the project ‘Daily Overview’, New York City-based creative Benjamin Grant curated satellite images from the databases of DigitalGlobe to shed light on how humans have marked the Earth’s natural landscape. The series was inspired by the ‘overview effect’, which is a term that refers to an altered awareness that astronauts experience when given the chance to look down and view the Earth from orbit.
From our line of sight on the earth’s surface, it’s impossible to fully appreciate the beauty and intricacy of the things we’ve constructed, the sheer complexity of the systems we’ve developed, or the devastating impact that we’ve had on our planet.
One of the main aims of the project was to behold and understand the forces that shape our Earth, who we are as a species and what is needed to sustain a safe and healthy planet.
IMAGE COURTESY: Ignant
5. THE INEVITABLE
One of the most debatable topics in this century is the onset of the apocalypse. How and when the world will crumble to nothingness. There are innumerable opinions on this topic, however today we bring to you a collection of photo manipulations, matte paintings and other artworks that show magnificent representations of the apocalypse, made with extreme precision. These images, set in a dark and gloomy mood will leave you astounded and worried about tomorrow.
IMAGE COURTESY: Hongkiat
We hope that these different renditions of our dear planet were able to impress your creative minds and bring forward its infinite beauty, be it in destruction, symbolism or even quilts!
