Myslbek Statues
The ‘Myslbek Statues’ are enormous 19th Century statues by Josef Václav Myslbek located at the Vyšehrad National Cultural Monument in Prague. The sculptures are heroic in scale and draped with drama, and seeping in history and metaphor. The Myslbek Statues depict four pairs of Czech historical figures, originally created to raise public awareness of Czech traditions, story and culture.
Ctirad and Šárka are characters from The Maidens' War, a traditional feminist Bohemian tale. Záboj and Slávoj were the heroic brothers from the Manuscript of Dvůr Kralové, later found to be an entirely fictional text. The irony of Myslbek’s sincere portrayal of fictional ‘Czech tradition and culture’ resonates in the contemporary context. In these works I present the Myslbek Statues from inside a moving car. I substitute the statues by cutting through layers of paper to uncover images of disposable tissue, perhaps revealing the wonder of a modern mythical narrative. I am interested in the materiality or presence of the photograph and how this relates to our experience of a personal and shared history and future.
Lumír and Píseň, Ctirad and Šárka, Přemysl and Libuše, Slavoj and Záboj (back view)
Chromogenic prints and collage on paper, 56 cm x 42 cm, 2016
Modern Myth, Counihan Gallery in Brunswick, 5 February - 6 March 2016, curated by Dominica Vavala.
Photo: Counihan Gallery