Negatives from the Trash 1900–1945

#2 min Josef Moucha

15. 2. 2026

1 | Jarmilka, circa 1906. A series of negatives found in a box labelled with her name document the girl's adolescence. The final image, dated 1919, shows her as a young woman. It seems likely that Jarmilka lived in Uherský Brod. Authorship unidentified. Black-and-white negative, 12 × 9 cm on a glass plate.
1 | Jarmilka, circa 1906. A series of negatives found in a box labelled with her name document the girl's adolescence. The final image, dated 1919, shows her as a young woman. It seems likely that Jarmilka lived in Uherský Brod. Authorship unidentified. Black-and-white negative, 12 × 9 cm on a glass plate.
#49 Talk TogetherReviewArchive

For nearly three decades, photographer Martin Wágner (*1980) has been collecting mysterious photographs that were lost from the estates of their authors, who can no longer be identified. By publishing them on the Facebook page Negativy z popelnice (“Negatives from the Trash”), which he has turned into a sought-after brand over five years, he rescues them from disappearing into oblivion. A cross-section of this collection has been showcased through a series of short-term exhibitions and a long-term installation at the Art Centre of Cheb's Gallery 4. He has kept the same title for a self-published monograph. The volume includes 211 reproductions, and in a way, revives these historical snapshots. The gazes of many of the people pictured are so evocative that they seem to directly invite contemplation of the irreversible flow of time. This also applies to the genre portrait featured on the book cover.

2 | The Slavia Prague football team during World War I, probably in Roudnice nad Labem. Authorship unknown. The photo likely comes from a friendly match during a time when part of the team had been drafted to the front, and some older players returned to the game. The captain was Antonín Vaník, with coach Johnny Madden standing on the side. Black-and-white negative, 13 × 18 cm on a glass plate.

3 | Oláh Roma, before 1918. Authorship unidentified. Black-and-white negative, 13 × 18 cm on a glass plate.

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Josef Moucha

(1956) is a photographer and teacher at the Institute of Creative Photography of Silesian University in Opava. He has published essays Zážitek arény (The Experience of the Arena, 2004), a novella, Mimochodem (By the Way, 2004), essays Obrazy z dějin fotografie české (Images from the History of Czech Photography, 2011) and two picture books, Válka za studena / Fotografie ze základní vojenské služby v Československé lidové armádě (Serving It Cold: Photographs from Basic Training in the Czechoslovak People’s Army, 2017) and Doličné okamžiky (Incriminating Moments, 2018).

#49 Talk Together

This issue explores language – its forms, possibilities, and limits. We look at how we communicate in the digital space, how the language of artificial intelligence changes our notions of creativity, and how visual images can replace words. You will discover why language is never neutral and how it shapes identity, creates inequalities, and opens paths to liberation. The issue features a reflection by bell hooks, the artistic practice of Eszter Magyar, projects documenting the Roma community in Brno, and visual essays by Claudia Larcher and Tabor Robak. The magazine presents language as a tool of communication, power, and resistance and invites you to reflect on what it truly means to talk to one another today.