Inside The Strange And Wonderful World Of Micronations

Imagine escaping the confines of bureaucracy and founding your own state, where you make all the rules.

Sounds like the stuff of fantasy novels. But some people actually make it a reality by creating their own "micronations."

A micronation is a piece of land that claims to be an independent or sovereign nation, but is not recognized by world governments. They are founded for many reasons, some as protests, some to boost tourism, and some just for fun.

Reports put the number of current micronations at over 400.

Photographer Leó Delafontaine found himself fascinated by these places and began photographing them in 2012, visiting six countries and three continents to capture 12 unique micronations.

While the photographs are humorous at times, Delafontaine hopes viewers come away from the series with both "the desire to laugh and the need to think about the geopolitical, national, and cultural questions that micronations generate," he tells Business Insider.

Delafontaine shared the following images with us. You can see more on his website or purchase the book of the series, out now on Diaphane Editions.