Last days: Josef Koudelka – Invasion Prague ’68 at Botanique

Categories: Event
Date: 08/08/2018 to 12/08/2018
Time: 12 h 00 - 20 h 00
Location: Botanique
Links: iCal - Google Calendar

Only a few more days to dive into the world of Czech photographer Josef Koudelka at Botanique.

Marking the fiftieth anniversary of the Soviet tanks rolling into Prague in 1968, the Botanique is hosting one of the living legends of contemporary photography. Josef Koudelka’s lens transformed the shocking Soviet military intervention in the streets of Prague in 1968, a turning point in Czech history, into a universal symbol of resistance. Originally published anonymously, these pictures have since been seen around the globe. 

Associated with the agency Magnum Photos since 1971, with Invasion Prague 1968 he has brought us the most journalistic work of his career.

Both observer and participant, he captured images of tanks in the city streets and the population standing against them. While other photographers also covered the events at the time, he was the only one to have interpreted their essence with such force and intensity.

After the pictures were picked up by Elliott Erwitt who introduced him to Magnum Photos, his work was published worldwide and won many prestigious prizes. He was however obliged to remain anonymous until the 1980s, despite this international recognition, to protect the safety of his family. The images of the Prague invasion first appeared in Czechoslovakia in 1990, on the pages of the weekly Respekt.

The exhibition is made possible with the collaboration of the Brussels Czech Centre, Magnum Photos and Aperture.