Iren Stehli (born 1953) made a name for herself with her photographic essays from the Czech Republic. Over a number of decades she accompanied a Roma woman living in Prague, Libuna, through the vagaries of her life – a unique long-term study in which the photographer was not just an outside observer, but also became a friend and confidante. This major work was published in 2004. Alongside it Iren Stehli has also undertaken a number of other projects since 1974. These feature a particular blend of fascination and concern. Her sensitive images capture how people master everyday life and political upheavals, how they survive and socialise, how they share joy and sorrow or overcome loneliness. Iren Stehli’s forms of expression always extend beyond the purely documentary, ranging from subjectively-tinged reportage to conceptual study – as in her large series about shop windows in Prague, for example. Her spontaneous, dynamic snapshots form a tense relationship with static, almost minimalist compositions.

Exhibition leaflet