Tereza Zelenkova
Who are you?
I am artist working with photography.
What are you most convinced of?
That the Earth is round.
What gives you the most joy?
My family and my work.
How did you find yourself?
Through trying out as many things as possible and saying yes to opportunities.
What or who inspired you to do photography?
I was always interested in art and had tried out many mediums and techniques before discovering photography at the age of 16. I was hooked from the moment I processed my first film in the darkroom and the fascination with the medium hasn’t left me yet.
What makes you angry?
Right wing politics, xenophobia and online trolls.
What is the strangest situation that happened to you?
I was born.
What do you think about the interpretation of art? Do you want your art to be interpreted?
It’s difficult question and I don’t think there’s a straightforward answer. I think that a good artwork should work without initial interpretation, but its meaning should go beyond its visual aspects. Photographer Jeff Wall says it quite well I think, when he says that art should be experienced and evaluated rather that interpreted. He says that a good artwork is not for everyone, but for anyone.
What do you think of the Susan Sontag’s phrase: ”In place of a hermeneutics we need an erotics”?
I think that the quote belongs to certain era when sexual liberation (especially of women) was really important subject. I think today we need both in order to combat the populism and the often resulting shallowness of the mass culture.
What would be your perfect environment for making your art?
Somewhere in Italy.
If you could choose a historical period and be there with the help of a time machine - what kind of time and place would it be?
That’s a tricky question. As a woman, I’m worried that any idealised image of the time would be immediately shuttered by the societal limitations imposed on women. I am happy living in the present but if I could briefly visit some historical past it would be 1920’s in Europe.
What is your dream project?
The work I enjoy the most is photographing places with interesting history, be it architecture or natural landscapes. My dream project would involve travelling through some foreign country and discovering its past though local mythologies and legends.
What is your favorite place that inspires you the most?
I don’t think I have one, I see creativity to be more related to a state of mind rather than place. But as a photographer, it always helps to be within a visually intriguing environment. I thrive in places that are timeless and feel more like staged theatre sets rather that within utilitarian architecture.
What jobs have you done other than being a photographer?
I was an extra in adverts, waitress, worked in McDonald’s, had collected empty beer glasses in pub, I was sandwich artist in Subway, retail assistant in London Zoo, sales assistant in Tate Modern bookshops, also a picture framer and admin assistant in property management company, and finally I have worked in education for the past 8 years, teaching photography and history of photography at various universities, colleges and schools.
What are your favourite books/movies/persons/photographers etc? Any recommendations :)
There’s many, it would be really hard to name a few. My favourite books are Journey by Moonlight by Antal Szerb, Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald and Season in Hell by Arthur Rimbaud. From movies I love Tarkovsky, Fellini, Wenders and Coppola, and from the contemporary directors Paolo Sorentino and Luca Guadagnino. My favourite artists are Leigh Ledare, Taryn Simon, Sophie Calle, and many many more.
How do you come up with the images and ideas you want to do in your photoshoots?
Usually I get inspired by something I read or a place I visited.
Do you come up with some stories when making your photography? Could you tell one if so?
When I met my now husband in London, I took him to the Czech Republic to photograph a specific cave with me. It was one of our first weekends together and his first time in my country. We needed to stay with a group of speleologists in a really dirty old cabin, sleeping on bunk beds and drinking with them by the fire all days and nights. There was no privacy, and nobody spoke English there except me and him. We spent many hours working in the cave, usually during the night-time, and it was a big adventure. When we went to Prague for a few days, before returning to the cave again, our car was stolen with some of the equipment inside. All in all, he must had thought that Czech Republic is really wild country and I am surprised that 10 years on, we live in Prague together.
What kind of people inspires you?
People who are not afraid of failure and who are not following any trends. It is also important for me to do things that one has a personal relationship with, I don’t like people whose work is a result of a rational calculation.
Where do you want to travel to and why?
I want to travel through Italy because I’ve been planning it for years and never had time to do it.
What is your strength?
I am honest, self-sufficient and I’m not afraid to take risks.
What advice can you give to young artists?
Talent is only half of the ingredients if you want to be a professional artist. The rest is persistence and personal connections. If you don’t try hard enough and if you don’t make personal connections with other likeminded people, your chance to succeed is smaller. Be yourself, be confident, socialise and keep making work even if there’s nobody to see it – yet!