Hidden Prague #5 - A Fly On The Wall and other Oddities

If you read this blog on a regular basis, you may remember my post in February this year about the Hanging Man (strictly Man Hanging Out). In that post, I urged people to not only look around them at the wonders of the city but also to look upwards.

Here are some more strange things you can get a glimpse of if you're looking in the right places. 

First up are the human figures which are part of Michal Trpàk's "Slight Uncertainty" installation. These were originally part of a much larger group of figures displayed in the EBC office building in Prague, but some have made their way to other parts of town.

These two can be found at the intersection of Na Zbořenci and Odborů. Although they look like cement, they are actually made of polyester and are meant to represent "the people belonging to the working middle-class society who have taken the biggest hit in the recession. The airborne figures portray an expression of sadness, despair and an apparent instability". Each figure took about six months to create from initial drawing and is about 160cm tall.

While you're there, check out the giant fly on the building behind the man with the umbrella. Most people miss it, and quite honestly, it is pretty gross. Interestingly I can't find any information about the creator or intent behind this monster, but then this is Prague!

Next are the mysterious figures sitting atop the building (Deymův Palace) on Voršilská which runs between Národní and Ostrovní (where I'm currently staying and writing this post!). Once again, I can't find any provenance associated with the three figures, but my research indicates they were installed sometime after 2005.

Finally, in this group, it would seem appropriate to mention the figure of King Wenceslas riding on an upside down horse which is hanging from the atrium roof in the Lucerna Palace. It's another David Černý sculpture...

The figure is either called "Horse", "Dead Horse" or "Saint Wenceslas" depending on which source you use and was created in 1999, but, as usual, Černý makes little comment about his work. However, I'm sure that the location of the statue, just a few hundred metres away from the more conventional monument to King Wenceslas in Václavské náměstí is no coincidence! I leave you to speculate on the meaning.

Remember - in Prague, it's often 'onwards and upwards'! If you know of any other upwardly mobile oddities, please leave a comment or drop me a note.