One of the first works to be inspired by yoga, but also inspired by themes from history. The sculpture symbolizes catharsis in many forms and expressions, both physical purification and spiritual or mystical. I always enjoy adding some other element to the sculpture that can enliven the work, but is also a form of a kind of readymade. I mostly now deal with the eyes of the sculpture, but I used to be fascinated by the hair as well. Here the hair is a symbol of protection, but also of impermanence and vanity. In the realization of the work, I applied for the first time the system of multiple models – more than ten girls posed successively during the modeling. In the course of the work, I thus “confirmed” some contemporary research on the search for the so-called ideal of beauty based on digital information, which in its conclusions basically stated the principles of average characteristics and typology. During the first presentation of the work, while still a student, I realized a performance that also emphasized the belonging of the creator to the work. In later works, I gradually moved away from performance as an artistic expression and instead focused on the viewer’s interaction with the finished work.

At the end of the 1990s I was still strongly influenced by the so-called “Hořice Art Nouveau Rodinism” – that is, the work of Art Nouveau sculptors who worked at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries at the famous sculpture school in Hořice in the Podkrkonoší region and left a strong legacy in this town. At the time of my studies at this sculpture school, I was also fascinated by the work of Rodin’s pupils – especially Camille Claudel. Later, while studying in Prague, I was influenced by the ideas and work of my classmates at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague – especially Aleš Bernard, whom I revered as one of my mentors, but also some of Martin Káňa’s works. It was a wild time, when on the one hand I was running away from Brno to return to study in Michal Gabriel’s studio. The sculpture “Speaking” was based on earlier portraits (more like mere studies) of my sister Kristýna, who was my favourite model from the beginning of my studies, but also later on when creating the first yoga-inspired sculptures. “The Talkers” is partly a paraphrase of Camille Claudel’s famous sculpture (Les Causeuses [The Gossips]) and partly a fascination with the sheer detail of the intimacy of a girl’s conversation – gossips. The whole composition is conceived as a child’s game (the heads can be pulled out), also playing with elements of Art Nouveau and Art Deco heritage – the playful stylisation of the heads – reminiscent of teapots is the intention here and a tribute to these motifs of a vanished age.