When he first visited the Czech Republic in the 1990s, the American photographer Matthew Monteith was taken with the details of ordinary life in this country in transition.
Captivated by the ineffable—a mood, a sense of place—he made repeated visits and in 2001—3 traveled throughout the country photographing with the hope of creating a contemporary allegory that reflected ideals found in old postcards and Czech photography from the 1920s and ’30s.
Most of these pictures were taken in or around Prague, in his friends’ homes, on the streets, or in small towns where it is as likely to find a centuries-old castle as an ominous nuclear cooling tower looming large. Although it is important to know where these photographs were taken, ultimately their meanings are not contingent upon place.
More info about the project Czech Eden here
