artphotocollector:

For me, a story is crucial in photography… I would like for the viewer to recognize the story, to search in it and reflect their own story upon it. Fantasy is very important is for me. I couldn’t imagine that everything in this world should be real, totally identifiable…“ Tereza Vlčková 

Few contemporary Czech photographers have attained the attention that Tereza Vlčková has achieved.  Still not thirty years old, her work has gained considerable international acclaim and press.  I first came across her work last year as part of Aperture’s reGeneration2 group show.

Her series, A Perfect Day, Elise…, reminds me why I love photography.  While I tend to be a bit of a purist when it comes to digital manipulation, her large-format images of young women succeed brilliantly in their transcendence.  We, the viewer, are taken into this world where we must question what we see.  And, I would argue, that is exactly the point: to project onto these “imaginary” women our own thoughts, questions and fantasies.  Why are they floating?  Who are they?  Where are they?  How do they make me feel and think?  I can revisit these images and always come away with something new.

This series, though created in 2007, continues to achieve notoriety and will be featured in the forthcoming issue of the the UK magazine Remedy.  Ms.Vlčková’s other series, Mirrors Inside, Two, and Sentiment are equally fascinating and reveal a photographer with a wide range of ideas and depth.   —Lane Nevares