SWITZERLAND (2023)- Metascape Souvenir Sheet

Welcome to the Metascape, a virtual landscape created by students at ECAL, the cantonal university of art and design in Lausanne. You can scan the QR code on the miniature sheet to embark on a virtual video journey on Instagram.

Strange, and yet somehow familiar. That’s the impression created by the ele- ments on this miniature sheet’s design. While familiar features of landscapes can be discerned, such as rocks, bodies of water and vague outlines of vegetation, the overall picture is of a surreal world – named the Metascape. To immerse your- self in this imaginary domain, you can simply scan the QR code. Augmented reality technology will then open up to visitors a fantasy world created by artificial intelligence.

The genesis of the design dates back to the Swiss Post Philately department’s visit to ECAL (Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne). Impressed by the students’ artistic work, the team quickly decided to offer the young talents a platform – in the form of a stamp. With the exception of the overall theme of “destination”, the students were given absolute creative freedom, resulting in a total of 14 projects developed in working groups. A handful were then shortlisted. The winning pro- ject won the vote of a jury made up of members representing ECAL, Swiss Post and the stamp commission. And so, when the stamp was created, fantasy became reality.