On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Communist regimes in Eastern Europe, the Czech Center in Paris will present a selection of works by Czech photographer, Vladimír Birgus, this autumn.
The images, many of them unpublished, of the 70s and 80s taken in Czechoslovakia, but also in Poland, Estonia and in the former Soviet Union will be presented at the festival Photo Saint Germain 2019 as the accompanying program of the international fair Paris Photo.
As the name "So much, so little" already suggests, the exhibition reflects the sinister and resigned atmosphere of an era when so much was obligatory and so little was authorized.
The public space, alongside the characters, plays an important part as well. All that together created the visual "culture" of those years. Even though, the author is best known for his color photographs, the majority of the images of the totalitarian era are in black and white.
Not only do the images have the documentary aspect but they also share a deeper message for the society and the individuals. They represent a photographic heritage and also a warning for future generations.
Paris Czech Center
Paris Czech Center is a part of international network of Czech Centers. Presenting Czech culture in all of its forms is one of their missions. More than 200 events are held in the building as in other places : exhibitions, concerts, film projections, lectures etc.