The Hanke family, including Michael Hanke, fresh from his second prize at the World Press Photo 2017 contest, is showcasing its photographs from 2 to 29 March in Prague’s multi-genre Czech Photo Centre. The Rodinné balení (Family Pack) collection features a representative cross-section of all seven family members involved in photography.
The Family Pack exhibition is based on the Hanke family’s many years dedicated to photography. Jiří Hanke is showcasing a selection of photographs from his Otisky generace (Generational imprints) series, in which he looks at family similarities and differences on portraits of parents and children. His son Michael, who won second place in the Sports category at the World Press Photo contest this February from over eight thousand photographs taken by professionals from around the world for his youth chess tournament series of photographs, will be exhibiting for the first time pictures from his new collection, Ball Season and others.
Jiří Hanke’s wife Jiřína will be showcasing her graphics-based collection Totéž jako jiné (Same as Others), in which notorious objects are transformed with natural simplicity. Their daughter Lucie Halamíková will be represented with pictures from her Hodiny baletu (Ballet lessons) collection in which she captures the progress of dancers from their first ballet steps to the training of professional artists. Photographs showing aircraft in novel ways will come from the camera of Dominik Hanke, Michael’s son, while pictures from Světla a záblesky (Lights and flashes) are taken by Lucie Halamíková’s son, Vojtěch.
‘Obviously it was not enough for Jiří Janke to be one of the boldest Czech documentarists whose collection Pohledy z okna mého bytu (Views from the Window of my Flat) was admirably analysed by guru of the philosophy of photography, Vilém Flusser, in the prestigious magazine, European Photography, calling Hanke a photographic acrobat. And clearly the fact that over four decades he has been considered a major gallery operator to whose Malé galerie in Kladno the whole of Prague’s art scene regularly visit, did not fully satisfy him either. His wife Jiřina, poet and painter, whose photographs also lean more towards aesthetic expression, has also passed on to their children her creative concept of art, acting in balance with Jiří’s material documentarism. It is no wonder that influences from both of them can be seen in the work of both their daughter Lucie and grandsons Dominik and Vojtěch, but especially in their son Michael. At forty years old, following five awards in the Czech Press Photo contest and a further three international awards, he has now deservedly received an award in the World Press Photo contest,’ says Daniela Mrázková, Rodinné balení curator, of the Hanke family’s works.
At this year’s Czech Press Photo contest, Michael Hanke was nominated for the first prize for his series of photographs, Den na dostizích (Day at the Races). His series covering youth chess tournaments was nominated for the Visitors Prize in Czech Press Photo 2015. In addition, Michael Hanke has received awards at the prestigious international contests, the Sony World Photography Awards 2016 and the International Photographer of the Year 2015 and 2016.
‘Since beginning operations last year in October, the Czech Photo Centre has already showcased the works of selected worldwide photojournalists from the prestigious VII Agency which includes internationally successful Czech photographer Antonín Kratochvíl, and this was followed by an exhibition of Jaroslava Kučera’s Sudetenland photographs, and a collection of Martin Frouz’s pictures of particular interest for Prague citizens showing repairs to Prague’s historic buildings. We are glad that we will now be able to show photographs from Michael Hanke, having just won an award in the World Press Photo, along with other members of the Hanke family,’ adds Veronika Souralová, director of the Czech Photo Centre and also the Czech Press Photo contest.
Entrance to the exhibition will cost 50 CZK, with a reduced entrance of 25 CZK. The Czech Photo Centre is open every day except Monday from Tuesday to Friday always from 11.00 am to 6.00 pm and at the weekend from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm. Czech Photo Centre - Nové Butovice /wheelchair access/ - exit metro heading towards Lípa polyclinic, Na Zlatě 1.
Press release to download in .docx
Press release with photography to download in .zip
Source of photographs: Czech Photo Centre
Contact details and further information: Public relations - Radek Polák tel.: +420 778 747 113, polak@czechpressphoto.cz, www.czechphotocentre.cz.