Codex Seraphinianus: The Weird And Wonderful Encyclopaedia Nobody Can Read
Men with arms that shoot bullets, a fornicating couple morphing into a crocodile, trees that uproot themselves and climb out of the ground and fish with broomsticks instead of tails. No, I am not describing a bad LSD trip, but the wacky world of the Codex Seraphinianus, a work difficult to classify which continues to perplex and enchant those who encounter it in equal measure.
Originally published in 1981, the book has achieved cult status, with first edition copies selling for up to 600 euros.
The Codex is an encyclopaedia of an alien and imaginary world. It documents the fauna, foliage, people, customs, geography and architecture with a series of surreal illustrations, all of which are annotated in an unknown language. If you wish to view it without breaking the bank, it can be accessed virtually here.
The Codex has been likened to the Voynich manuscript, a mysterious illustrated codex, dating back to the 15th century, which also features an unknown language shrouded in mystery. Theories as to its authorship and meaning abound, ranging from those that say it was an early cypher, to those who believe it was an outright hoax.
Unlike the Voynich manuscript, the author of the Codex is not only known, but alive. He is an elusive figure, but has given interviews on his weird and wonderful creation.
So, who is the man behind this strange book? His name is Luigi Serafini, and he was born in Rome in 1949.
He is a man of many talents, and has worked as an artist, a sculptor, a ceramist, an architect, an industrial designer and an illustrator. All these skills were utilised to create the mythical Codex, and his artistic flair is on full show. The Codex is many things, but few can deny its beauty and exquisite design.
Unsurprisingly, the unknown script has fuelled fierce interest in the Codex as many seek to unravel the mystery. Amateur cryptographers have long sought to uncover the meaning of the strange text, and one woman even claimed to have hallucinated herself into Serafini’s world before reading the book.
Don’t do drugs, kids.
When asked about the rampant speculation the book has fuelled, Serafini insists that “there is no meaning behind the script; it’s just a game”. He goes on to liken The Codex script to the Rorschach inkblot test, stating that:
“You see what you want to see. You might think it’s speaking to you, but it’s just your imagination”.
Serafini doesn’t completely destroy the mystery surrounding the book however, and cryptically utters the following:
“The book took over its author, I ended up being just a go-between.”
It is hard to articulate what it is like to encounter the Codex for the first time. The world is familiar yet foreign, much like in a dream, and just as you are on the precipice of understanding something, the next page disorientates you once again. As one reviewer notes: “Part of the genius of the Codex is that there is enough information to be familiar but not enough to make any sense.” It is like many things, and yet it is none of them.
According to the author himself, that is exactly the point. Serafini wants the book to make the reader feel illiterate, specifically like a child who is reading a book he does not yet understand, or even reading a book upside down. In short, the mysterious text is not challenging us to solve it, but inviting us to make meaning of the images. At a conference in 2009, Serafini is quoted as saying:
“This book gives you the feeling of illiteracy, which in its own way, encourages the imagination, much like children who delight in inventing a story by holding a book upside down. They can’t read yet, but they know that the object must make sense and so they imagine what its meaning could be.”
In short, this book empowers the reader to make the world of the Codex their own, instead of telling them what the diverse pictures and strange dreamscapes mean. It is food for our imagination.
As is often said, humans are meaning-makers, and Serafini has sought to give us a tapestry of symbols and images with which to get to work.
As Werner Herzog once remarked:
“It is a great metaphor. For what? I do not know”.
Upon first reading The Codex, most people often have a similar thought:
This is saying something profound. What? I do not know
Serafini has gifted us with a book of rich imagery, and through his unknown text, invites us to fill in the blanks. What does it all mean? It’s up to you; “beautifully meaningless” and eternally meaningful.
