Anima Mundi - The Eriskay Connection
Anima Mundi
OCTOBER 2024
  • Máté Bartha (HU)

 38

163 × 312 mm
136 pages
English
Hardcover with loose inlay
TEC127
First edition: 750
9789493363083
  • Anima Mundi - The Eriskay Connection
  • Anima Mundi - The Eriskay Connection
  • Anima Mundi - The Eriskay Connection
  • Anima Mundi - The Eriskay Connection
  • Anima Mundi - The Eriskay Connection
  • Anima Mundi - The Eriskay Connection
  • Anima Mundi - The Eriskay Connection
  • Anima Mundi - The Eriskay Connection
  • Anima Mundi - The Eriskay Connection
  • Anima Mundi - The Eriskay Connection
  • Anima Mundi - The Eriskay Connection
  • Anima Mundi - The Eriskay Connection
  • Anima Mundi - The Eriskay Connection
  • Anima Mundi - The Eriskay Connection
  • Anima Mundi - The Eriskay Connection
  • Anima Mundi - The Eriskay Connection

Concept and photography:
Máté Bartha

Text contributions:
Emese Musci
Paul Dijstelberge

Design:
Carel Fransen

Lithography:
Gaëlle van den Dool (Wilco Art Books)

Production:
Jos Morree (Fine Books)

Print and binding:
Wilco Art Books (NL)

Supported by:
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Hungary

Anima Mundi, meaning ‘world spirit’, is rooted in Platonic thought and reflects the ancient concept of a universal organising principle that connects all beings. However, it’s not the existence of such a force, but humanity’s intrinsic need to believe in it that sparked the interest of Máté Bartha (HU).

Bartha explores the hidden anatomy of an archetypal metropolis, portraying urban space as a social product. A ‘second nature’ shaped by human hands, yet one that has evolved into an autonomous organism no longer governed by its creators. This challenges anthropocentric views and encourages a shift towards understanding the city through a post-human grammar.

Bartha takes on the role of a fictional observer, wandering through the metropolis like a detective in search of patterns, hidden connections, and the elusive ‘order of things’. Photographs of both real and staged scenes from various global locations are collaged into an unidentifiable, virtual cityscape. Grid structures, posters, and other urban elements recur as motifs, but offer no clear orientation, reflecting the ambiguity and complexity of modern life. Presented in a modular grid, they serve as metaphors for humanity’s attempt to find structure and meaning in an often arbitrary world.

Designed as an obscure encyclopedia, Anima Mundi draws inspiration from enigmatic works such as the Voynich Manuscript, Robert Fludd’s mystical diagrams, and Luigi Seraphini’s Codex Seraphinianus – each of which attempts to capture a world in its entirety through complex and often cryptic visual codes. Divided into chapters that examine urban phenomena from the microcosmic to the cosmic, it invites the reader to act as an interpreter, searching for a hidden logic behind the scenes.

Máté Bartha (1987) is a Budapest-based visual artist working in the fields of photography and documentary film. He’s interested in theory fiction, dealing with philosophical topics with a playful approach that involves impersonation and world-building. In 2014, he self-published his first book of photographs, Common Nature. His series Kontakt was awarded the Louis Roederer Discovery Award at the Rencontres d’Arles International Photo Festival in 2019. Bartha’s documentary Downstream won multiple awards, including Best Student and First Film at the 2019 Verzio International Human Rights Film Festival. His latest project, Anima Mundi has been an Honourable Mention of the PhMuseum Grant Main Prize, and awarded the Jury Prize of Les Boutographies festival at Montpellier, both in 2024. Máté Bartha is represented in Hungary by TOBE Gallery.

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