Hic Sunt Leones
It seems that every square inch of our world has been already discovered. Somebody somewhere described, photographed and littered every place you can possibly think of. Blank patches on ancient maps were gradually filled with smooth details leaving no more room for signs that marked unknown and dangerous territories. The intensive feeling of constant human presence is particularly obvious in cities. There is someone at every park, alley or bench just now or within the next five minutes.
Hic Sunt Leones describes inaccessible, forbidden and forgotten places in the city of Brno. Those “here be lions” areas that are lurking in the cracks of perfectly known and mapped urban terrain.
I've self-published this book as a diploma thesis with print run of 300. It is entirely authorial work containing texts, photographs, maps, pieces of dialogues, artifacts, facts and possibly fiction. All of this obtained during long-time exploration of these locations. It is a record of the genius loci of places that corrode faster than other parts of the city. One hundred books are hidden all around the city, without any clues or hints. The books themselves become part of this non-frequented cityscape. Random people will continue to find them during following moths or years.
Hic Sunt Leones has received the first prize in The Most Beautiful Czech Books of 2014 award. Additional information about the entire project was mentioned in this interview, for example.
Hic Sunt Leones describes inaccessible, forbidden and forgotten places in the city of Brno. Those “here be lions” areas that are lurking in the cracks of perfectly known and mapped urban terrain.
I've self-published this book as a diploma thesis with print run of 300. It is entirely authorial work containing texts, photographs, maps, pieces of dialogues, artifacts, facts and possibly fiction. All of this obtained during long-time exploration of these locations. It is a record of the genius loci of places that corrode faster than other parts of the city. One hundred books are hidden all around the city, without any clues or hints. The books themselves become part of this non-frequented cityscape. Random people will continue to find them during following moths or years.
Hic Sunt Leones has received the first prize in The Most Beautiful Czech Books of 2014 award. Additional information about the entire project was mentioned in this interview, for example.
I'd make this fucking building into a slammer, put a fucking electricity around it, throw some fucking machetes down from a fucking helicopter and let them all fucking kill each other.
——self-imposed gatekeeper Franta