Luigi Serafini’s book Codex Seraphinianus is a baffling and beautiful visual encyclopaedia to a parallel universe. Take a look at this cryptic and unfathomable tome in our flick-through film.
First published in 1981, this surreal encyclopaedia documents the flora, fauna, civilisations and architecture of a mystical universe, all in an unknown language. Its aim, then as now, was to show the importance of coding and decoding in the study and understanding of genetics, literary criticism, and computer science.
For this new edition, author Luigi Serafini (a ceramicist, architect, illustrator, design and critic) has updated its original content with new illustrations, leading to a cryptic book, just as confusing and fascinating as its predecessor. Its meaning might still be unfathomable but it’s a beautiful art object, both in content and in execution.