René Kubášek

PRAHA A LISABON OČIMA ŘÍČNÍCH KAPITÁNŮ
PRAGA E LISBOA AOS OLHOS DOS MESTRES DO RIO
PRAGUE AND LISBON THROUGH THE EYES OF RIVER CAPTAINS

GALERIA DAS SALGADEIRAS
Rua das Salgadeiras, 24, Bairro Alto, Lisboa
Septembro 9-25, 2009

TERMINAL FLUVIAL CAIS DO SODRÉ, Lisboa
Setembro 19 - Novembro 17
(Inaguracao Septembro 19 a 17.30h no Terminal Cais do Sodré)

KINO AERO, Biskupcova 31, Praha
16.října - 17.listopadu 2009

It was spring 2009 when I sailed on the Tejo and Vltava Rivers. I rode boats with—to my Czech ear—beautiful sounding names like the Eborense, Alentejense, Trafaria Praia, and also on the more familiarly dubbed Vyšehrad, Vltava and Labe…

And I swayed. I swayed for a few weeks in Lisbon and Prague as well, long after the boats had docked and I had disembarked. This swaying is what I hold as my deepest memory of that time… Somehow I have swayed all the way to this moment, as I present this project about the boats that are such an inseparable part of the cities they inhabit.

I wanted to explore, through the viewfinder of my camera, what my favorite city of Lisbon and my home city of Prague look like, seen from the water. I wanted to be consumed by the view, which – as the captains say – never become commonplace. I can now confirm that it is a view above all poetic; the captains are rough and the water elemental…

This project would never have come into being without the help of my friends and other people who, in various ways, supported it and whom I would like to thank here: Firstly, I thank my Portuguese brother Claudio Garrudo for all his help and for the many years of his friendship; Ana and Mariana – the women in his life – for their great company; Ana Matos for her smiles and for providing me with the most beautiful Lisbon gallery; Hugo Neves for his ever-unique design; Aninas Martinho, Helena and Carlos, Judith and her family, Pedro and Madalena for a great time on land; Mr Táborský for his work; Veruška for editing; Petr Patočka for the boat trip; Petr Kubášek for his advice; and above all Irena, Quido and Bruno for being here.

I would also like to thank Captains Rui Sousa, Zé Manuel Varandas, Paulo and Jorge, Mr. Trojan, Lauryn, Nedoma and Korkorán; crew members Miguel, Valdemar, Jorge, Sylvestr, Tomáš, František, Mr Uher and Mr Dřímal, and all the others who accepted me so warmly into their swaying family.

This project would not have been possible without the participation of sponsors and the other institutions that supported it in various ways. Nonetheless, it is always individuals who stand behind institutions and who must be open to wild ideas, and I am very grateful to them:

  • City of Prague (Miroslav Sklenář)
  • Transtejo (Teresa Gato, Raul Matias a Pedro Duraő)
  • Pražská paroplavební společnost (Dušan Sahula a Richard Vojta)
  • Sefimota (Pedro Rocha Gonçalves)
  • Instituto Camőes (Joaquim Ramos)
  • Embassy of the Czech Republic in Portugal (Ladislav Škeřík, Sandra Linkensederová)
  • TAP Portugal (Jan Čurda)
  • Kino Aero (Pavel Rajčan a Ivo Andrle)
  • Epson (Filipa Coelho)
  • Global Wines (Jan Haspekl)
  • Criterio (Victor Neves)

This project is held under the auspices of Mr. Pavel Bém, Mayor of Prague.

The photos were taken with Canon EOS 50 and Yashica A (6x6) cameras on Ilford film.