ANIMA

Latin for soul, spirit or breath. The animating principle of a living thing.

When pilgrims gather into processions to celebrate their faith and express theirdevotion, they enter a spiritual sphere where the soul is transfigured by their chants, their dances, but also their attire.

Mathieu Richer Mamousse went on a quest to grasp the very moment when men and women from all over the world forget themselves and unite into a cortege of believers.
They leave their everyday skin and put on their finest costumes, which they have carefully prepared, sometimes for months, or years, as they are often passed from one generation to the next.

Their devotion is visible down to the smallest details of their garments, each yarn bringing them closer to sacredness. They melt into a melodious patchwork of co-lors and patterns, fabrics and jewels, furs and ruffles, feathers and flowers.

Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Pagans, Animists, Voodooists... Mathieu Richer Mamousse captures the universal splendor of devotion, turning these rituals into one prayer. His warm and poetic eye shows us that all pilgrims, regardless of their religion, are animated by one same pious breath. They perform their faith through grand and adorned parades, creating a heavenly atmosphere in which the deities are invoked and the soul accesses supreme spheres. Each detail matters, as humanity ought to be left behind.

Only the spirit remains, the Anima.


Zoé Isle de Beauchaine




DETAILS

22,8 x 22,5 cm canvas cover, mat white hot stamping with gold foil outlines.

60 pages printed on Superfine Eggshel 148g/m2 paper

Second edition of 300 copies printed in collaboration with the fondation Manuel Rivera-Ortiz




PRESS

M le Monde

The Guardian

Fisheye



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