What better way to show sea level rise than by parodying the maps of oil corporations? Here’s a 1956 Shell Oil map of Mexico, showing the ultimate levels of sea rise.
The Petrofuture series was inspired by my previous Retrofuture series…the ultimate 66m of rising oceans that would result from the melting of ice caps, shown on top of vintage maps. The twist is the Petrofuture series is shown on top of vintage gas station maps. This gas station map is courtesy of the David Rumsey Map Collection.
There’s real nostalgia for me with gas station maps. They were always in the glove boxes of my parent’s cars growing up in the suburbs, and I would spend hours tracing my finger along the lines, imagining future family trips, or adventures of my own. I probably wouldn’t have become a cartographer without the early influence of these maps.
