Neibara

Neibara_Map_Wanakti

The map of Neibara, written in Wanakti—put up on display at the DCDT

Date(s):
2019
Medium:
Print
Location:
Detroit Center for Design + Technology (DCDT)
Detroit, MI, United States
 

Neibara, meaning “World of the Nine (Deities)”, is the home of the Naukratis civilization, located many light-years away from Earth.

Though the surface of Neibara is dominated by the sea, the residents of this water-world thrive on natural land masses and man-made islands—constructing settlements that vary from small villages to metropolises.

Neibara_FishShop

A conceptual drawing depicting a fish market on an artificial island

Neibara_Map_English

The Map of Neibara translated in English, from the Codex Naukratica

Neibara_Island_Rakesh

“Rakesh”: a depiction of one of the many artificial islands within Neibara

Neibara_Island_Pratiwon

“Pratiwon”: A depiction of a settlement augmented to a small geological formation

Neibara_Island_EdeFeiwes

“Ede Feiwes”: A depiction of a large island home to many settlements  within Neibara

Design Process

Being a blue planet where artificial islands and marine empires reign supreme, one influence behind Neibara is the film Waterworld.

Initially, the world of Neibara was going to be nothing but a series of artificial islands on a blue planet with very few natural island formations and even fewer plants—very reminiscent of Waterworld.
This was changed because it would make the design of the map rather bland and it would make sense for Neibara to feature flora and natural geological formations (i.e. continents and islands). After all, if humans are among the inhabitants of the world, how will oxygen be produced?

The name of Neibara was inspired by “Nibiru”, the hypothetical home of the Anunnaki (seven deities) of Mesopotamian mythology as proposed by  Zecharia Sitchin, as well as a way of vocally incorporating the Wanakti term for nine (nei), a number venerated by the culture of the Naukratis Civilization.

Neibara_Geography_Detail2
The natural and artificial landmasses were inspired by real-world locations, primarily islands and natural formations found in the Mediterranean (i.e. the now-destroyed Azure Window and the island of Santorini) and subterranean, man-made structures among the likes of the Sumela Monastery and the Myra Necropolis
Neibara_IslandVarieties_N
Neibara_IslandVarieties_A
Neibara_Geography_Profile1
Neibara_Geography_Profile2
Neibara_Geography_Profile3
Neibara_Geography_Profile4

The Fish Market

The fish market was drawn to create and provide conceptual context to establish what kind of world Neibara was and how the Naukratis civilization functioned as a civilization.

The fish shop takes visual inspiration from street market shops (souqs) in the Middle East and North Africa and artistic renderings of street markets in Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.

NOTE: The glyphs written in the concept is an older iteration of the Wanakti glyphs.

FishShop_RoughSketch