Photography & Environment

Josef Koudelka, Spain  1975

Josef Koudelka, Ireland  1970

Josef Koudelka’s first photography series, Gypsies, captures the daily lives of Roma communities in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia (then Czechoslovakia), as well as Hungary, France, Romania and Spain. The series documents a period of post-war upheaval when Roma people were undergoing forced integration and persecution across Europe. Using a 25mm wide-angle lens, Koudelka was able to immerse himself in intimate settings and small spaces. Known as ‘Ikonar’ (maker of icons) by some of the communities he worked with, he captured Roma traditions, struggles and resilience in striking compositions.

Gallery label, March 2025

Josef Koudelka, Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, Zehra  1967

Josef Koudelka’s first photography series, Gypsies, captures the daily lives of Roma communities in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia (then Czechoslovakia), as well as Hungary, France, Romania and Spain. The series documents a period of post-war upheaval when Roma people were undergoing forced integration and persecution across Europe. Using a 25mm wide-angle lens, Koudelka was able to immerse himself in intimate settings and small spaces. Known as ‘Ikonar’ (maker of icons) by some of the communities he worked with, he captured Roma traditions, struggles and resilience in striking compositions.

Gallery label, March 2025

Josef Koudelka, Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, Kendice  1966

Josef Koudelka, Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, Zehra  1967

Josef Koudelka’s first photography series, Gypsies, captures the daily lives of Roma communities in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia (then Czechoslovakia), as well as Hungary, France, Romania and Spain. The series documents a period of post-war upheaval when Roma people were undergoing forced integration and persecution across Europe. Using a 25mm wide-angle lens, Koudelka was able to immerse himself in intimate settings and small spaces. Known as ‘Ikonar’ (maker of icons) by some of the communities he worked with, he captured Roma traditions, struggles and resilience in striking compositions.

Gallery label, March 2025

Josef Koudelka, Ireland  1976

Josef Koudelka, Germany  1979

Josef Koudelka, Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, Rakasy  1966

Josef Koudelka, Romania  1968

Josef Koudelka’s first photography series, Gypsies, captures the daily lives of Roma communities in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia (then Czechoslovakia), as well as Hungary, France, Romania and Spain. The series documents a period of post-war upheaval when Roma people were undergoing forced integration and persecution across Europe. Using a 25mm wide-angle lens, Koudelka was able to immerse himself in intimate settings and small spaces. Known as ‘Ikonar’ (maker of icons) by some of the communities he worked with, he captured Roma traditions, struggles and resilience in striking compositions.

Gallery label, March 2025

Josef Koudelka, England  1976

In Exiles, Josef Koudelka documents his travels across Europe after fleeing Czechoslovakia in 1970. He remained stateless until 1987 when he received French citizenship. This time in his life was characterised by a desire for freedom and a constant state of restlessness. According to Koudelka, he never stayed anywhere longer than three months. Exiles reflects his sense of displacement and discovery of both himself and his surroundings. His photographs of desolate landscapes, abandoned urban scenes and solitary moments show his understanding of complex composition and tone.

Gallery label, March 2025

Josef Koudelka, Ireland  1972

Josef Koudelka, Wales  1974

Josef Koudelka, Czechoslovakia  1968

Josef Koudelka, On 22 and 23 August, Wenceslas Square was Cleared of People, August 1968  1968, printed 1970s

This image of an arm held up against Prague’s Wenceslas Square has become Josef Koudelka’s most iconic photograph. The usually bustling square is eerily quiet. For a long time, Koudelka thought he had taken the photograph at 6pm. This would have been proof the Czechoslovakian people had not fallen for a Soviet ruse to attend an evening protest and given the soldiers an excuse to attack. Years later, however, he realised the watch read 12 noon when the square had also been cleared.

Gallery label, March 2025

Josef Koudelka, Defending the Czechoslovak Radio Building, Prague, August 1968  1968, printed 1970s

‘The Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 concerned my life directly. It was my country. I took these photographs for myself, not for a magazine. It was only by chance that they were published. I wasn’t a reporter. I had never photographed anything that you would call ‘news’. Suddenly, for the first time in my life, I was confronted with that kind of situation. I responded to it. I knew it was important to photograph, so I photographed.’

Taken with remarkable proximity, Josef Koudelka’s photographs were first shown to the international public the following year. For his safety, they were credited to ‘an unknown photographer’.

Gallery label, March 2025

Josef Koudelka, Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, Klenovec  1967

Josef Koudelka’s first photography series, Gypsies, captures the daily lives of Roma communities in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia (then Czechoslovakia), as well as Hungary, France, Romania and Spain. The series documents a period of post-war upheaval when Roma people were undergoing forced integration and persecution across Europe. Using a 25mm wide-angle lens, Koudelka was able to immerse himself in intimate settings and small spaces. Known as ‘Ikonar’ (maker of icons) by some of the communities he worked with, he captured Roma traditions, struggles and resilience in striking compositions.

Gallery label, March 2025

Josef Koudelka, Czechoslovakia, Prague, August 21st, 1968. Warsaw Pact tanks invade Prague, near the Radio headquarters, crowds push back the first tank  1968

‘The Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 concerned my life directly. It was my country. I took these photographs for myself, not for a magazine. It was only by chance that they were published. I wasn’t a reporter. I had never photographed anything that you would call ‘news’. Suddenly, for the first time in my life, I was confronted with that kind of situation. I responded to it. I knew it was important to photograph, so I photographed.’

Taken with remarkable proximity, Josef Koudelka’s photographs were first shown to the international public the following year. For his safety, they were credited to ‘an unknown photographer’.

Gallery label, March 2025

Josef Koudelka, Spain  1971

In Exiles, Josef Koudelka documents his travels across Europe after fleeing Czechoslovakia in 1970. He remained stateless until 1987 when he received French citizenship. This time in his life was characterised by a desire for freedom and a constant state of restlessness. According to Koudelka, he never stayed anywhere longer than three months. Exiles reflects his sense of displacement and discovery of both himself and his surroundings. His photographs of desolate landscapes, abandoned urban scenes and solitary moments show his understanding of complex composition and tone.

Gallery label, March 2025

Josef Koudelka, At the Czechoslovak Radio Building, Vinohradská Avenue, Prague, August 1968  1968, printed 1970s

‘The Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 concerned my life directly. It was my country. I took these photographs for myself, not for a magazine. It was only by chance that they were published. I wasn’t a reporter. I had never photographed anything that you would call ‘news’. Suddenly, for the first time in my life, I was confronted with that kind of situation. I responded to it. I knew it was important to photograph, so I photographed.’

Taken with remarkable proximity, Josef Koudelka’s photographs were first shown to the international public the following year. For his safety, they were credited to ‘an unknown photographer’.

Gallery label, March 2025

Josef Koudelka, France  1976