Invisible Cities

OGR
Thumbs
Isaura - City of the Thousand Wells
Isaura, City of the thousand wells, is said to rise over a
deep, subterranean lake. On all sides, wherever the
inhabitants dig long vertical holes in the ground, they
succeed in drawing up water, as far as the city extends, and
no farther. Its green border repeats the dark outline of the
buried lake; an invisible landscape conditions the visible
one; everything that moves in the sunlight is driven by the
lapping wave enclosed beneath the rocks calcareous sky.

Consequently two forms of religion exist in Isaura. The

citys gods, according to some people, live in the depths, in
the black lake that feeds the underground streams. According
to others, the gods live in the buckets that rise, suspended
from a cable, as they appear over the edge of the wells, in
the revolving pulleys in the windlasses of the norias, in the
pump handles, in the blades of the windmills that draw the
water up from the drillings, in the trestles that support the
twisting probes, in the reservoirs perched on stilts over the
roofs, in the slender arches of the aqueducts, in all the
columns of water, the vertical pipes, the plungers, the
drains, all the way up to the weathercocks that surmount the
airy scaffoldings of Isaura, a city that moves entirely
upward.
Mission Statement
Black Lake, Airy Scaffoldings and Twisting Probes. These are the key pieces that built the City of Isaura for me. The first thing I
thought of when reading of the black lake was of the inky darkness of oil and even though that may be what is considered the polar
opposite of the life giver that water is I think the comparison conjures up interesting imagery. The scaffolds, pumps and drills that
make up Isaura give the air of an old western oil town, sprung up in a hurry over an oasis of black gold. Calivino describes the city in
a way that makes it seem the entire city is devoted to the collection and transportation of this miracle elixir..

The second key part of Isaura is its religious system, one sect focusing on the machinery that provides the water and the other on the
water itself. Since Im not sure I would be able to accurately depict both religions in the three pieces I decided to focus on just the
worship of the water. A key idea about water is the way it can take many forms; such as ice or vapour, and when that thought first struck
my mind I was reminded of the Pythia of Delphi, ancient greek women supposedly blessed by Apollo so they could predict the future. The
most likely reason for their prophetic powers was Ethylene in the vapours they surrounded themselves in, sourced from an underground
river. I figured this was an interesting starting point for a religion dedicated to water, as who wouldnt worship something they thought
was giving them superpowers? And the wells themselves make for excellent steam vents so I think it fits.

I see Isaura like a modern city caught in the trappings of the old, a city that experienced its boom a long time ago but still works
tirelessly to give reason for its existence. Indian, Greek, Venetian architecture near the centre of the city from when the water was
merely a way to survive leading into parts build in the cities prime, intricate, devoutly built wells almost cathedral like in scale. The
edge of the city being more modern looking constructions, function over form, as if the citizens are addicted and desperate for more
water and after a technological boom had to means to keep on digging more and more.

Making an interesting colour palette was a hard decision for me seeing as my ideas led mostly to metallic greys and stone browns. But I
think Ive worked out a good set that combines the darker, mechanical colours of the machinery and the bright calmness of the water.
Interior Influence
Exterior Influence