Wplace, The Rebellious Space – The Weird Side of the Internet

Wplace, the Rebellious Space – The Weird Side of the Internet – by Liam Sweeny.

Do you call it graffiti or vandalism? Poetic mayhem or drug-infused hyper-scrawl? It really depends on the venue, right? And maybe permission. When the concert hall hires you to paint graffiti behind the stage, no matter the style, is that commissioned artwork? I say yes, but opinions can differ. I chalk anything up to business when a Benjamin greases my palm.

But then there’s Wplace. It is a ‘scape that consists of a map of the world. A deeply pixeled, deeply accurate map of the world. And you make art on it. You don’t buy some digital acres, and it doesn’t feel like the money pit most cool digital things are. You just paint using your cursor, one dot at a time, trying not to pant over someone else’s work (which happens frequently, especially in popular places. Just pure freedom.

So what is on wplace? What hath a thousand unchained artists wrought upon cyberspace? A mix, actually. Stick figures and crudely crafted words dance in between murals and full-on cartoons.

There’s no rule against painting over another artist’s work except to not be a dick and ruin someone else’s work with some random dots.

Wplace is cool, largely because it’s an autonomous digital space. It’s one of a number of places where people are almost absolutely free to express yourself. And come what may. There’s politics, and probably ideas that go beyond the pale in pastel blue. But there’s also really neat visual tricks and people coming to wplace to memorialize someone close to them.

Wplace is the future of the internet, in my opinion. Because the suits don’t get it. People like novelty and a new cool way to interact with the world, but in Babylon (the ordinary world) all that stuff is controlled, commodified – it’s like how every cool moment is free until Wall Street finds a way to make money on it. But sites like wplace will keep popping up, and there will be a place for the rebellion to hang out. Might end up being wplace, who knows.

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