Travelogues

In 1993 František Skála (1956) was nominated to represent the Czech Republic at the 45th Venice Biennale. He decided to walk all the way to Italy and in Czech pavilion exhibited paintings and fragile objects created from the items he found during his more than 500 miles long pilgrimage. This concept united several themes. During the 25 days of his journey that he spent virtually alone in the mountains he was creating tiny objects made of materials he found in the surrounding nature and writing a diary. Skála himself observed that the greatest experience for him was to pass the distance at the speed natural to human being. The diary verges between image and text.  I reached an absolute harmony with nature and was able to perceive everything very intensively… This is a spiritual record of the experienced landscape, journey and yearning for close friends and relatives, not devoid of Skála’s specific humour and overstatement in the right places. The Travelogues are published as a facsimile in two volumes in a sleeve designed by the author.