CGD

The main source of inspiration for Hana Zárubová's collection Ø, translating the elements of clothes traditional in various cultures to different clothing contexts, was an island landscape which constantly keeps changing its shape and structure. This is also why she invited the photographer Jiří Hroník, known for his images of the volcanic landscape of Iceland (where he lived for more than a decade), to cooperate. The main reason is that he is capable of capturing the landscape as a dynamic whole composed of opposites, where, for example, the sea spills over onto seaside sand and burning lava into snow.

The way Hroník approached the shooting of Zárubová's models is very similar. He mainly – with only very few exceptions – decided not to work with models and, instead, hung her bombers, coats and skirts onto subtle racks amidst vast insular landscapes which both substantially underlined the employed textile materials. The parachute silk of a golden coat thus freely flutters in the seashore wind and the lightness of a white down coat quilted in various rhythms is confronted with the raw surface of the planks covering the floor of a wooden bungalow. The photographer, however, proceeded likewise in the case of the pictures where he did cooperate with female models. He asked them to turn their faces away in order to enhance the shine and softness of the silk with the similar qualities of their hair. The collection also includes a photograph of a free landscape which, without presenting any of Zárubová's pieces, perfectly captures their common quality: the ability to join such opposites as rawness and fragility. And it is exactly what Jiří Hroník shares with Hana Zárubová.

Karel Císař