Hun-man, 2001

Collage, paper, felt-tip pen, adhesive tape – 445 × 247 mm

In Hun-man, Bónyai Barbara fuses popular visual culture with conceptual thinking through a unique visual language, reflecting on early 2000s countercultural movements and the quest for self-identity.

At the center of the work appears a stylized face that evokes the aesthetic of anime and manga, adorned with military attributes and symbolic elements. The cap worn by the figure features two stylized Chinese characters (meaning “screen” or “visual display”) in black and red contours on a yellow background. These characters refer not only to the medium itself but also underscore the centrality of visuality in contemporary culture.

Above this, the title HUN-MAN plays on the phonetic convergence of “human” and “Hungarian,” signaling not a declaration of national identity but rather a position rooted in local underground resistance. The hun-man is envisioned as a kind of cyberpunk partisan – an autonomous figure operating within visual, musical, and mediatic spaces, in defiance of consumerist culture.

Elements such as play and stop icons appear as ironic insignia, turning media control symbols into badges of rank. The inscription “Just to be HC” references the artist’s connection to the underground music scene, specifically hardcore rap, techno, and visual art. The dominant red and white background is intersected by bold accents of black, yellow, and green, forming a dynamic yet tightly structured composition. In the bottom right corner, the TL logo points to TrooLenz, a rap formation associated with Bónyai’s performative and activist artistic practice.

Hun-man can be read as a visual manifesto – an act of self-representation by an autonomous creator navigating the intersection of global pop culture and local resistance, reinterpreting visual presence and identity in media-saturated environments.

The work belongs to Bónyai’s Contemplative Cycle (1999–2010), a body of work in which abstraction and socio-cultural reflection are interwoven in a meditative synthesis. This period is marked by an interdisciplinary approach – video, animation, experimental sound, manga, arte povera, and sculptural installations made from digital debris – all exploring the philosophical boundaries between East and West. The cyberpunk references, iconography, and layered pop-cultural semantics of Hun-man exemplify this multifaceted artistic position.