ANIMA MUNDI - book launch:
Paris Photo, LSD Lab, 7th Nov:
https://www.facebook.com/events/468986862181312
Capa Center, Budapest, 5th Dec:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1621660555051227
Paris Photo, LSD Lab, 7th Nov:
https://www.facebook.com/events/468986862181312
Capa Center, Budapest, 5th Dec:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1621660555051227
In his latest project, Máté Bartha takes on the role of a fictive observer, to create a universe of images that unveil the hidden anatomy of the metropolis: a metaphysical mirror to human existence. Within his proposed book he uses only images, developing a special taxonomy of urban phenomena, deconstructing many genres of scientific publications, thus giving pride of place to personal interpretation and subjective experience. Patterns and different grid structures emerge on the pages, standing as an allegory for mankind’s endeavors to make sense to arbitrariness. Of all the precursors of the book, the enigmatic Voynich Manuscript of the 12th century, the works of 17th century philosopher, mystic and early scientist Robert Fludd, and their contemporary paraphrase, Luigi Seraphini’s Codex Seraphinianus had a particular significance to Bartha, as these volumes attempt to capture the (or a) world as a whole and paradoxically channel the
contents in different indirect ways, requiring the reader to decipher the information within. Similarly, Anima Mundi is structured like an obscure encyclopedia, divided into chapters that present reality through the semantics of urban phenomena, interpreting these observations in an ever wider context from human society to a cosmic perspective. Anima Mundi is a poetic take on the desperate act of trying to find structure and meaning, a philosophical study of reality as subjectively lived and experienced, in this case, looking at the metropolis as the entirety of creation.
contents in different indirect ways, requiring the reader to decipher the information within. Similarly, Anima Mundi is structured like an obscure encyclopedia, divided into chapters that present reality through the semantics of urban phenomena, interpreting these observations in an ever wider context from human society to a cosmic perspective. Anima Mundi is a poetic take on the desperate act of trying to find structure and meaning, a philosophical study of reality as subjectively lived and experienced, in this case, looking at the metropolis as the entirety of creation.
The project was funded by the József Pécsi National Scholarship for Photographers of Hungary, and developed through AFM - Art Foto Mode (Athens, Berlin, Budapest), H - The Notion of Humanist Photography Kaunas Gallery, and at the Cité des Artes Paris via the artist exchange programme of Budapest Gallery, Hungary.
Exhibition views from:
TOBE Gallery, Budapest, 2022
Balabanov's House - Plovdiv - International Meetings of Photography, 2023
Pavillon Populaire Montpellier, Les Boutographies, 2024
TOBE Gallery, Budapest, 2022
Balabanov's House - Plovdiv - International Meetings of Photography, 2023
Pavillon Populaire Montpellier, Les Boutographies, 2024
The project has been awarded:
PHMuseum Grant - Main Prize Honourable Mention, 2024
Les Boutographies, Montpellier - Jury Prize, 2024
PHMuseum Grant - Main Prize Honourable Mention, 2024
Les Boutographies, Montpellier - Jury Prize, 2024
The book Anima Mundi is under development and since 2024 existing in the form of a dummy, designed by
Carel Fransen (The Eriskay Connection), and text by Emese Mucsi (Robert Capa Photography Center). Within his book Máté Bartha uses only images, developing a special taxonomy of urban phenomena, deconstructing many genres of scientific publications, thus giving pride of place to personal interpretation and subjective experience. Thus Anima Mundi as a book is structured like an obscure encyclopedia, divided into chapters that present reality through the semantics of urban phenomena, from its most basic forms, through human society to a cosmic perspective.
Carel Fransen (The Eriskay Connection), and text by Emese Mucsi (Robert Capa Photography Center). Within his book Máté Bartha uses only images, developing a special taxonomy of urban phenomena, deconstructing many genres of scientific publications, thus giving pride of place to personal interpretation and subjective experience. Thus Anima Mundi as a book is structured like an obscure encyclopedia, divided into chapters that present reality through the semantics of urban phenomena, from its most basic forms, through human society to a cosmic perspective.
