Markéta Špundová – Back 2 the Roots

»Back 2 the Roots is an installation by Markéta Špundová that explores the connection between humans and nature, inviting a return to our roots—both literally and figuratively. The photographs featured in the installation document a participatory happening, during which participants create playful figures from root vegetables and later cook a communal meal with them. The project revives a medieval motif of anthropomorphized roots, which early illustrators often depicted with human or animal features. The installation offers space for play, reflection, shared experience, and slowing down. Through simple gestures, it contrasts the medieval perception of the world, rooted in the principles of microcosm and macrocosm, with today’s capitalist mindset that emphasizes individualism and the superiority of man over nature. It encourages viewers to consider the role nature plays in our lives today, and how we might engage with it more sensitively and mindfully. The shared meal becomes a reminder that “what the root eats, you eat too.”

Why did medieval botanical drawings so often feature faces or entire bodies? Quite simply, because the shapes of roots resembled them—and for playful botanists, adding a little face here or a full figure there seemed like a great idea. Beyond these lighthearted naturalists, the satirical drawings also reflected the concept of mundus inversus—a world turned upside down, where the natural order of things is flipped on its head. Markéta Špundová, however, turns this motif back around: her root vegetables with faces become a symbol of returning to balance and seeking reconnection between humans and nature. 

Michaela Žůrková