IRELAND
GALLERY OF PHOTOGRAPHY
UNTIL AUGUST 30
Josef Koudelka: Invasion Prague 1968
The Gallery of Photography is proud to present the Irish premiere of one of the most important works of photo-journalism of the last century. Josef Koudelka’s ‘Invasion Prague 1968’ documents the momentous events of 21 August 1968, when over 5000 Warsaw Pact tanks rolled into Prague, ending the Dubcek era of liberalisation known as the ‘Prague Spring’.
This inspiring projection exhibition features images selected by the photographer from his extensive archive. Koudelka's photographs of the invasion were smuggled out of the country and were credited only to ‘Prague photographer’ to avoid reprisals to Koudelka and his family. The intensity and significance of the images earned the still-anonymous photographer the Robert Capa Award. Sixteen years passed before Koudelka could safely acknowledge authorship.
Koudelka left Czechoslovakia for political asylum in England in 1970 and shortly thereafter joined Magnum Photos. Throughout the 70s and 80s, he continued to wander around Europe, including Ireland in 1977, hoping to capture something of the world that seemed to be vanishing before his eyes.
Invasion by Warsaw Pact troops in front of the Radio headquarters, 1968 © JOSEF KOUDELKA / MAGNUM PHOTOS
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