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.
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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.
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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?"
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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."
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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."
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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."
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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?"
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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