Fotograf Zone – Luboš Svoboda

I can only concentrate on a day. That is the smallest unit I can court. When I advance further, I will court an hour, and only after that a minute. (But I can’t even imagine.) If I can manage it in my lifetime, only then shall I attempt a second. Far more than the stars in the sky, I’m intrigued by the rats in this shrub.

…

When I’m done explaining something, it is as if someone has cut

my fresh hand off, which then takes a long time to regrow.

Sometimes, I shed the hand myself as bait,

just as slowworms discard their tails.

And then I stand there,

and give it a long glance,

as if it were my contribution.

Text: Luboš Svoboda

Translated by Františka Blažková

#45 Hypertension

Feelings of hypertension, a hyper-tense body, hypertension of the heart, hypertensive impulses, hypertensive images, hypertensive stimuli, hypertensive behavior, hypertensive individuals, hypertensive situations, hypertensive information flows, hypertensive media, a hypertensive flow of notifications. Is your blood pressure still the same? Is it rising? All fine? Are you feeling okay? Elevated blood pressure, or hypertension, is a metaphor for the question of the new virtual “I” and the changeability of a newly formed identity, the theme of this year’s Fotograf Festival, hypertension23, and also of this issue, which this time breaks away from the usual concept due to the connection to the festival, bringing a more concrete form, more akin to a catalogue.