The 400 ASA exhibition includes photos by Karel Cudlín (b. 1960), Jan Dobrovský (b. 1960), Alžběta Jungrová (b. 1978), Antonín Kratochvíl (b. 1947), Jan Mihaliček (b. 1965), Tomki Němec (b. 1963), and Martin Wágner (b. 1980). The common denominator in their individual approaches lies in the realism with which they view the world, and through which they capture its changeability.

When considered overall, it is apparent that human society is the primary focus of all seven photographers from two generations. Although they mainly concentrate on the present day, they are also interested in its foundations, that is to say, in the deeper past. It is as if the individual photographers ask questions that are interlinked, but each one of them answers in their own unique way. Nonetheless, the exhibition also expresses an awareness of the connection between today’s photography and the tradition of documentary photography. Particularly Antonín Kratochvíl’s contribution adds a historical dimension to the show.

His series originated over a period of more than twenty years and was published under the title Broken Dream (New York, 1997). Karel Cudlín and Jan Mihaliček both track the revival of religious traditions, while Jan Dobrovský follows Roma families in the Czech Republic’s North Bohemian Region. The exhibition draws examples from photographic series focused on the current transformation of the more broadly defined Central and Eastern European Region, including Slovakia as captured by Tomki Němec, Alžběta Jungrová’s Burlesque photos taken in Prague, and Martin Wágner’s Ukraine. The installation introduces each of the photographers through an excerpt from only one segment of their work, which, in all cases, is much more extensive.