Signs of European 

Towns

Each place and also each town conceal its own signs. Signs have blossomed from the knots and tangles of destiny and from the vast roots of the stories connecting us with ancient times. They spring up unexpectedly as if from a crevice to let you glimpse  some of their horror and beauty. Only then do they disappear again into the depths of oblivion. I sensually groped the towns, one after another, and waited till they let me in, to those parts, where they usually let scarcely anybody. I waited until they would let me touch them in the most sensitive spots and scars, the gloomy yards and dark parks, the flats with half-mad windows – staring eyes. The more I learn to know them the more I love them. And thus the love will remain between us forever. Because towns are not  jealous.

Berlin

The largest number of photos from the series “Berlin Signs” was taken in the spring of 1998. It was then, that I was hosted for three months with ham and liquor by Berlin art photographer, Reinharda Gorn. It is him to whom I would like to address my thanks for sharing his passion for this miraculous town and for his support (films & ham & liquor). Also, during repeated short visits lots of pictures were taken in the following years. To see  samples knock on the picture or knocker. 

Warsaw

I was stunned by the extent to which Warsaw and Berlin were sometimes similar. They have a common mother; the Second, the World one…

The series “Warsaw Signs” came into being in the summer of 2003. I would like to thank Photogrant, Foma Bohemia Ltd. company and  The Czech Centre in Warsaw fot their support as well as to the central  market in the town for offering  cheap food. To see samples knock here.

Sophia

I strolled around Sophia, drank red wine there, ate “Tsatsa” sardines and took plenty of photos in the summer of 2004. My appreciations and thanks go to the Bulgarian wine producers, also to Foma Bohemia Ltd.  company and to the Czech Centre in Sophia for their help and support. Special thanks go out to adventurer Pavel Plechký for boarding a plane to bring me a spare Pentax camera. A series of approximately 40 photos is the result of this grand cooperation. I have divided it into two parts: “Sophia Signs” and the more realistic “Every Day Sophia”. To see the samples knock here.

Budapest

The real Budapest begins in its courtyards: the town’s border is marked by massive gateways; the frontier crossing is formed by a passage with one loosely hanged bulb, descending above your head from the decades that have been peeling off the roof. Here are the refuges of the impoverished Budapest nobility; the rusting ironwork on staircases, fountains and sculptures dingy for the longest time, dusky windows defending their palatial dignity as their last, and not yet pawned off, legacy of their ancestors.    

The series of 50 photos which are presented here were taken in May and June 2006. I would like to especially thank the Czech Centre in Budapest and to the photographic materials producer  FOMA Bohemia Ltd. for their support; also the Hungarian wine producers as well as all the backstairs old-lady gossips, who let me jaw them in Czech. If you want to take a peek at Budapest, just  knock.

For the present I  am just walking out with the other towns.

Partner of the project:

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