--- title: "In the Footsteps of David Černý – A Journey Through Prague’s Darker Side | Satori Cities" url: "https://satoricities.com/en/blog/david-cerny-prague-dark-side/" language: "en" type: "blog-post" slug: "david-cerny-3" source_slug: "david-cerny-3" source_language: "pl" category: "Art & Culture" --- # In the Footsteps of David Černý – A Journey Through Prague’s Darker Side > An adventure-reportage through Prague, where each of David Černý's sculptures is another clue, provocation, and joke. The hero of this story is you — the city tracker, exploring a place that loves to laugh at itself. - Published: August 18, 2025 - Reading time: 4 min read In the Footsteps of David Černý – The City That Laughs in the Face of Legend One night, Prague whispered to me: "I am more than towers and beer. Want to see my darker soul? Come with me." And so began my walking report—through alleys, fountains, and absurdity, where you recognize David Černý’s work by the button filled eyes of his statues. 1. The Head That Changes Your Perspective Head of Franz Kafka – Quadrio, 2014 Wikipedia: Head of Franz Kafka I start at the shopping center where, next to a Tesco, stands a gigantic, chrome head of Kafka. It rotates every hour, as if analyzing fresh frustrations in real time. 30 million crowns for the project? Poetry priced at the cost of a solid subscription. 2. Freud, Who Can’t Make Up His Mind Man Hanging Out – Husova/Skořepka, 1997 The Guardian Insight Leave psychoanalysis behind for now. Here is Freud hanging over the cobblestones, one hand holding onto life, the other to his pants. As you stroll, you start to feel it yourself: "Maybe I’m hanging between dreams and bills too?" 3. The Obituary of Saint Wenceslas Kůň (Wenceslas on a Dead Horse) – Lucerna Passage, 1999 CN Traveler on Kun Holiness, national myths—and here is a horse upside down with the saint sitting like royal fate. You walk past, squint your eyes, and think: "The nation eats, I drink, it stands. History? Dead, yet still moving forward." 4. Politik Writes in Water — Live Piss – Kafka Museum, 2004 Wikipedia: Piss (Černý) Two naked men urinate into a pool shaped like the Czech Republic. And perhaps you have just written the message they wrote with water. You see—politics is like a fountain: dirty, but "artistic." 5. Faceless Children – Tech Horror Babies (Žižkov Tower) – 2000, replicas 2019 Wikipedia: Babies (Černý) Just a moment longer, and the tower looks like a cosmic labyrinth of childhood nightmares: their barcodes replace faces, glowing at night and reminding you: "You are just another data unit." 6. The Hybrid That Watches Trifot – Czech Photo Centre, 2016 Atlas Obscura: Trifot A tripod like a cosmic drone, with a head filled with cameras. It watches. You watch. The eternal question: "Who is taking the picture here? Are you photographing, or is the world scanning you?" 7. Brown Nosers – A Leap into Political Intimacy Brown Nosers – Futura Gallery, 2003 CN Traveler: Brownnosers Climb the ladder, stick your head where you don’t want to be seen, and watch politicians eating oatmeal. The sounds of Queen and irony—this is our media’s ten seconds of fame. 8. The Trabant That Strayed from the Asphalt Quo Vadis – German Embassy, 1990 CN Traveler on Quo Vadis Opposite the thematic chaos stands a Trabant on legs. An escape without a turn signal, self propelled. It is an image of a generation searching for a path, yet driving… onward. 9. Tank Torso – History Without a Head Tank Torso – Kinský Square, 2018 Pragueviews on Černý works A tank configured like an abandoned machine. This is not a monument to victory—it is a remnant of memory. A monument to a regime that stepped off the stage and was dismembered on the city’s walls. 10. London Booster – The Bus That Does Push Ups London Booster – Chodov, 2012 Wikipedia: London Booster At its heart is a bus… doing push ups. A sporting show with hydraulics. Czech territory of political absurdity—literally a "car with a mission" to the rhythm of the audience's clapping. Epilogue – When We Want to Laugh, Though Our Hearts Tremble Chaotic, surprising, subversive—this is Prague’s Černý. A walk through his sculptures is a story about a city that laughs at itself. Sometimes to show that what hurts can be survived—with humor and a coin in your pocket. ## Keep reading - [Prague Uncensored – David Černý’s Art and the City as a Gallery of Absurdity](https://satoricities.com/en/blog/prague-uncensored-david-cerny-art-absurdity/) | Markdown: https://satoricities.com/en/blog/prague-uncensored-david-cerny-art-absurdity.md - [Prague Uncensored – David Černý’s Art and the City as a Gallery of Absurdity, Part 2](https://satoricities.com/en/blog/prague-uncensored-david-cerny-art-absurdity-part-2/) | Markdown: https://satoricities.com/en/blog/prague-uncensored-david-cerny-art-absurdity-part-2.md - [Žižkov in Prague: The TV Tower, Pubs, and the Neighborhood That Doesn’t Pretend to Be Polite](https://satoricities.com/en/blog/zizkov-prague-tv-tower-pubs-vitkov/) | Markdown: https://satoricities.com/en/blog/zizkov-prague-tv-tower-pubs-vitkov.md Blog index: https://satoricities.com/en/blog/ Booking: https://satoricities.com/en/booking/