Josef Koudelka: Exiles

About Exiles, Cornell Capa once wrote, ‘Koudelka’s unsentimental, stark, brooding, intensely human imagery reflects his own spirit, the very essence of an exile who is at home wherever his wandering body finds haven in the night…’

In this revised and expanded edition of the 1988 classic, which includes new images, Josef Koudelka’s work once more forms a powerful document of the spiritual and physical state of exile. Most of the images were taken in Europe during Koudelka’s own twenty-year exile from his native Czechoslovakia, starting in 1970, after having left in the wake of photographing the Soviet-led invasion of Prague. The sense of private mystery that fills these photographs speaks of passion and reserve, of his rage to see. Solitary, moving, deeply felt and strangely disturbing, the images in Exiles suggest alienation, disconnection and love.

Exiles evokes some of the most compelling and troubling themes of the twentieth century, still resonating with equal force during this time of migrations and profound transcience.