Photobloc. Central Europe in Photobooks

The International Cultural Centre exhibition presents the most important events in the region as a visual story. Dozens of publications from Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania recall the complex history of the last century: from the collapse of the geopolitical system in the wake of the First World War, the creation of new nation states and development of new ideologies, through the trauma of the Second World War followed by the dark period of communism, to the dramatic transformations towards the end of the 20th century. The exhibition also attempts to systematise our understanding of photobooks, which have been gaining in popularity among artists, publishers and the public in our part of Europe. We will search for local origins of the genre in pioneering colour photos by Tadeusz Rząca, author of the album Picturesque Poland from 1910, and works by Czech avant-garde artists Karel Teige and Jindřich Štyrski. (Dorota Dziunikowska, “Karnet” monthly)