GEOFICTION
Realistic Geofiction is the art of creating "verisimilar" or "plausible" imaginary countries which could be believable as real. So, culture, history, language and facts of them are coherent and based on real countries on Earth. For more information about the subject, refer to the wiki Geopoeia. As in the
website of AGL,
a Dutch organisation of imaginary countries, a
realistic geofiction “is a reality within the here and now of today”.
These states “in themselves and interactively apply to the present
level of technological development, as far as it can be known.” My first creation, Kaupelan, a developing country situated close to Indonesia and Australia, was conceived more than five decades ago, when I was just 8 years old. The project grew up with me. From the childish origin, it evolved based on my growing interest on graphic arts, geography, history, economy and especially… languages! I had to increase my knowledge in these and other areas and nowadays the project can be seen as a kind of laboratory for political, economic and social ideas. I dream about Kaupelan, but not as an ideal place, a utopia. Instead, I imagine it as a developing country with difficulties and problems, such as overpopulation and lack of natural resources, where solutions for energy, environment or public transportation, for instance, can be imagined and developed. Maybe some of them can be useful in the real life applications. When I was 15,
I've created Yukland, a developed country situated in Northern
Europe. This rich, scarcely populated and frozen land is, in some
respects, the opposite of Kaupelan.
It is, perhaps, the creation closest to an Utopia. Good
education, good public services. An equalitarian and free society.
However, even Yukland is not perfect
as well. It has different problems, maybe similar to those of Western
European countries, and a unique culture and "personality". My third
creation, Ytyrama, is an emerging country of South America,
conceived based on my interest in the Indian culture of Brazil, my real
country. This land aims to be an experience of socialism and democracy. The motivation for my next creation, Tarmorya, an emerging country situated in Northern Africa, was to imagine a culture mixing Roman, Berber, Arabic and French influences. The tourism in its Mediterranean coast and agriculture - citrus, olives and grapes (that give good wines) - are the basis for the development of this country. My last creation,
Kharzanistan, was motivated by the time I was living in China. Beside the
Chinese culture, other cultures like Persian, Tajik, Kyrgyz and Russian
influenced this country. Independent of my personal political opinion,
this geofiction is an experience of a communist state. Inspired by the
Dutch organisation AGL, an international organisation was
created in 2005 to congregate realistic geofictional nations in a
more international way. This organisation became FICT – the Forum for International
Cooperation and Trade – in 2011. Paulo Eduardo |
MY GEOFICTIONAL PROJECTS
Kingdom of Kaupelan |
Republic of Yukland |
Republic of Yutyrama |
Republic of Tarmorya |
Republic of Kharzanistan |
If you are interested in geofiction do not hesitate to contact me. Please write to kaupelan@hotmail.com.