The Dice Man

Starting from Máté Bartha’s photo series of the same name, and complemented by drawings and prints by Zsófi Rumi and Árpád Szigeti, this publication presents outdoor air conditioning units—often interpreted as hated symbols of mass production and global warming—as sentient and intelligent beings, with unique, mysterious, yet knowable inner worlds. The work adopts the style of late-Renaissance hermetic codices, with a touch of humor and irony. “I have a recurring dream. Beneath the starlight, darting between dark alleyways, I wander through the moonlit courtyards of a city where I am the only remaining inhabitant. There is no movement, no sound—only the echo of my footsteps as I search for something of great importance among millions of objects and buildings glowing in pale silver light. Once loved and used, they are now the incomprehensible monuments of a bygone era. I stop before the façade of an industrial building. I’ve found what I came for. The dozens of air conditioning units no longer function, yet their strange formations speak to me in a sacred language. For a brief moment, everything falls into place. When I wake, the sentence that was so clear just a moment ago has vanished—but for hours, I remain haunted by a longing for a life in which all I do is photograph outdoor air conditioning units, and nothing else.”

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 photographer, and his partner in formulating the concept of the series, Emese Mucsi, curator. The series 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. The material as an exhibition has been awarded the main jury prize at Les Boutographies, Montpellier. The project has been manifested as a book in 2024, published by The Eriskay Connection, and has been included in the Top 10 of 2024 lists of 1000Words Magazine and PHMuseum.